South Carolina basketball fans are the best in the country. No other women's basketball program will draw as many fans as the Gamecocks in the 2023-2024 season, and Carolina is on the verge of setting all-time records for total and average attendance for a women's basketball season.
On Friday, the University of South Carolina announced that Colonial Life Arena was sold out again for the upcoming game against Tennessee, the 5th time this season that has happened.
The Sunday 12:00 PM EST tip (on ESPN will come after Senior Day festivities for the Gamecocks. Post player Kamilla Cardoso is the only player for Dawn Staley's team who is completely out of eligibility, but guard Te-Hina Paopao and post player Sakima Walker have been in college for four seasons. It is unclear at this point if Paopao or Walker have made any plans about next season yet. Even if they participate in Senior Day on Sunday, they could still return to school.
The Gamecocks have all but locked in their #1 national attendance ranking for the 2023-2024 season (both average and total), and if USC draws good crowds for their first two NCAA Tournament games (they will be hosting), they have a chance to break their own total attendance record (set in the 2015-2016 season) and Tennessee's average attendance record (set in the 1998-1999 season).
In addition to the attendance history that could continue on Sunday, South Carolina basketball will be playing to make SEC history on the court, as well. With a win, the Gamecocks will become the first SEC team in conference history to win every regular season game (both out-of-conference and in-conference) in back-to-back seasons.
An undefeated regular season won't mean much to USC without a national championship, and the Gamecocks' ultimate goal is its third title. However, if they run the table and win their third title without a blemish on their record, it will be just the tenth time in the history of women's basketball that that has happened. UConn has done it six times, and Baylor, Tennessee, and Texas have each done it once.