South Carolina women’s basketball has made history by advancing to its sixth consecutive SEC Tournament championship game, setting a new conference record. The No. 1 seed Gamecocks defeated No. 5 Oklahoma 93-75 on Saturday, securing their 29th win of the 2024-25 season. South Carolina will face second-seeded Texas (31-2) in the championship game on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Following the victory, Coach Dawn Staley spoke to the ESPN College GameDay team and made her feelings clear regarding the NCAA Tournament seeding, which will be finalized on March 16.
“We play the best schedule in the country, we have the toughest schedule,” Staley said. “Did we have a bad game vs. Connecticut? Sure. But don’t discount what we did all season long.”
How the Win Affects South Carolina’s NCAA Tournament Seed
Right after Staley’s comments, ESPN’s Charlie Creme, who has been tracking NCAA Tournament projections for the past two months, weighed in on the Gamecocks’ seeding. “Coach, your No. 1 seed is solidified,” Creme said. “Don’t worry about it, get a good night’s sleep, try to win tomorrow’s game, but it won’t matter if you win Sunday as far as the No. 1 seed goes.”
Initially, Creme had projected South Carolina (29-3) as a No. 2 seed in Spokane, Washington, after their loss to UConn on February 16. However, he has since moved them back to a consistent No. 1 seed in the Birmingham region.
As of 5:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, ESPN’s latest projections placed South Carolina as a No. 1 seed, with the Gamecocks hosting in Columbia for the Birmingham 4 Region. Creme’s bracket had Illinois (No. 8), Richmond (No. 9), and the winner of a First Four game between UNC Greensboro and High Point (No. 16) set to join South Carolina in the region.
With Oklahoma (25-7) ranked No. 10, South Carolina’s dominant win over the Sooners was a significant factor in impressing bracketologists, but a third straight SEC Tournament championship would likely seal the Gamecocks’ No. 1 seed for March Madness.
