South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley finds herself in a unique situation this preseason. For the first time since the 2019 preseason AP poll, the Gamecocks are outside of the top-5. That season, USC was ranked 8th in the preseason poll but finished as the universal #1 team in the land when the season was cut short due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Coach Staley hopes that the 2023-2024 version of her South Carolina basketball team can have similar results as they open this season at #6 in the AP poll.
Even at SEC Media Days, the Gamecocks are not ranked as highly as usual. The defending champion LSU Tigers were first in the SEC media’s preseason poll (the Gamecocks were 2nd), and only Kamilla Cardoso was voted onto one of the All-SEC teams.
The distribution of power in women’s college basketball is growing, and the Gamecocks will face a surprising number of teams in the top-25 this season.
Carolina will open the season in Paris against #10 Notre Dame and will play its first home game against #14 Maryland. The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge will feature South Carolina basketball vs. North Carolina and will be followed shortly after by a mid-season Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase game with the #5 Utah Utes.
In SEC conference play, the Gamecocks will take on ranked foes Mississippi State, #1 LSU, and top-12 opponents Ole Miss and Tennessee (twice). Hidden in the middle of the SEC schedule is the annual UConn (#2) game that has seen the winner (and sometimes the loser, too) make the Final Four every season since the series began an annual event in the 2014-2015 season.
The Gamecocks also play against annual top-25 threats like the Duke Blue Devils, Florida Gators, Missouri Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, Texas A&M Aggies, Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Arkansas Razorbacks.
The entire AP poll is listed below:
- LSU Tigers
- UConn Huskies
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- UCLA Bruins
- Utah Utes
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Virginia Tech Hokies
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Tennessee Lady Volunteers
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Texas Longhorns
- Maryland Terrapins
- Stanford Cardinal
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Louisville Cardinals
- Florida State Seminoles
- Baylor Bears
- Colorado Buffaloes
- Southern Cal Trojans
- Creighton Blue Jays
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Washington State Cougars
- Mississippi State Bulldogs