Gamecocks bring swagger into clash with Trojans to prove true USC belongs to them

The South Carolina Gamecocks will continue their March Madness run on Monday evening, getting the No. 9 USC Trojans at home in the second round. The Trojans got here by defeating Clemson 71-63 in overtime in the first round. The Gamecocks throttled Southern 103-34 at home, in what was the largest margin of victory in school history in an NCAA Tournament game. 

South Carolina also gets the luxury of having beaten the Trojans earlier this season. During a regular-season clash on Nov. 15 early in the regular season, South Carolina won 69-52 at home. 

The Gamecocks are heavily favored in the rematch against the Trojans, checking in as 22.5-point favorites at home. But aside from beating this team twice and moving onto the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament, South Carolina can also crown itself as the real USC. 

While the Trojans obviously have been known colloquially as USC for decades, several SEC fans refer to the Gamecocks as USC as well. The University of Southern Cal and the University of South Carolina both have the same abbreviation USC, so both the schools are referred to as such frequently. As for facing the Gamecocks a second time, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb says she thinks South Carolina is much improved from earlier in the season.   

ALSO READ: South Carolina gives 5-Star CB a lot to think about

"I think they've evolved, just like anyone else has," Gottlieb said on Sunday. "I think, when you start out that elite, to find ways to evolve speaks to the coaching. I think obviously Dawn's an incredible coach and they have great leadership on the floor.

I think their core principles remain the same, right? They're an incredibly athletic team. They have dominant bigs. They like to rebound. They have an elite point guard who involves people, and then they obviously have guards who can score. They literally gained a player, so they gained some more depth with Alicia Tournebize."

South Carolina's Joyce Edwards added that USC seems to be playing better at this point in the season, but finding a way to get the win will be key. 

"You get more games under your belt, you start building more chemistry, you start trusting each other," Edwards said. "But I think in March, it don't even matter. It don't matter what conference we're in. It don't matter we're in the SEC. It really don't matter. It's just we need to go out there and win. Like Coach was saying today in practice, find a way to win."

Monday night's game will tip-off at 8 p.m. ET, and air live on ESPN.