How Gamecocks moved on from SEC loss to put all focus on season’s ultimate goal
Dawn Staley admitted South Carolina’s SEC tournament championship loss to Kentucky on March 6 seemed to jolt the Gamecocks, causing them to “question everything.”
South Carolina (29-2) took four days off before restarting practice the week before Sunday’s NCAA tournament Selection Show, when USC learned of its No. 1 overall seed and placement in the Greensboro Regional along with Iowa (2), Iowa State (3) and Arizona (4).
Staley said the Gamecocks have spent time correcting mistakes that led to their 64-62 loss to Kentucky for the SEC tournament crown. They have since put away any lingering feelings from the conference tournament, and now they’re ready to move forward in the hunt for a second national championship.
“We’re a good basketball team, no doubt about it,” Staley said. “We do some things extremely well, and we did some things that weren’t so good. We got caught up. I think we’re aware of what those things are, and we’re working toward correcting those things while continuing to do the things that we do well.”
No. 1 USC, which has maintained the top ranking in this year’s Associated Press poll since the preseason, dealt with two losses all season, including its last outing against the Wildcats. With an 11-0 record against Top 25 teams in the regular season, including wins over tournament No. 1 seeds Stanford and N.C. State, the Gamecocks had the top overall NCAA tournament seed practically locked.
Staley put the Gamecocks’ challenging non-conference slate together as a means of preparation for March Madness. Still, she said she came into Selection Sunday without expectations, remembering how she didn’t care about seeds when South Carolina first started appearing in the tournament because the path to a championship remained the same — win six games, and the title is claimed.
Though the win-or-go-home sentiment holds, Staley said she now understands how earning the top seed creates a more ideal path. She expressed gratitude Sunday after the NCAA committee rewarded South Carolina’s resume even with its two losses.
“If your body of work says that you deserve the No. 1 overall seed, it’s helpful,” Staley said. “That’s no disrespect to whoever is in our region, but it has its advantages. ... We had to play well enough to be in the Greensboro Region, and we put a schedule together to accomplish that, and it was hard.”
After taking time to process their loss, the Gamecocks moved to championship expectations. Staley said she discussed the goal of a national championship with the team over the last week. With the tournament now on deck, the focus turns to individual opponents.
“It was cool getting back in the gym, just decompressing, coming back and picking up those feelings we had (after the Kentucky loss) and placing them somewhere,” Staley said. “We got to play some in practice and work on some things. Our players are aware of some of the things that we need to do. It was cool seeing them work through that.”
The Gamecocks’ journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota and a trip to the Final Four starts Friday in Columbia, with a matchup against the winner of a play-in game between Howard and Incarnate Word.
Should South Carolina win in the first round, it will face either No. 8 Miami or No. 9 South Florida on Sunday before heading to the Greensboro Regional from March 25-27. The Final Four plays out in Minneapolis on April 1, with the national championship scheduled for April 3.
For Staley, preparation is focused on getting South Carolina back to playing its “best basketball.”
“This is what you play for all season long,” Staley said. “It’s here. It’s do-or-die. It’s figure out a way to win. For me, it doesn’t really have to be pretty, it just has to be more points than the other team. I know everybody wants to play clean and smooth, but the bottom line is to win the basketball game (and) figure out how to survive.”
Columbia’s NCAA WBB tournament schedule
Wednesday: Howard vs. Incarnate Word (First Four), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Friday: No. 8 Miami vs. No. 9 South Florida, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
Friday: No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 16 (First Four winner), 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday: Winners of Friday games, TBD (TBD)
USC women’s basketball NCAA tournament history
Listed by year and with tournament seed, finish; 2020 tournament was canceled
2022 — No. 1 seed
2021 — No. 1 seed, Final Four
2019 — No. 4 seed, Sweet 16
2018 — No. 2 seed, Elite Eight
2017 — No. 1 seed, National champion
2016 — No. 1 seed, Sweet 16
2015 — No. 1 seed, Final Four
2014 — No. 1 seed, Sweet 16
2013 — No. 4 seed, second round
2012 — No. 5 seed, Sweet 16
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 7:15 AM with the headline "How Gamecocks moved on from SEC loss to put all focus on season’s ultimate goal."
