USC women’s basketball will have to wait a little longer to find out who they’ll play first in March Madness. Here’s why

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Gamecocks will have to wait a little longer to know who’ll they’ll face as they start their quest for a third national championship in program history.

Seeding and pairings for the women’s March Madness Tournament were announced Sunday night, where the Gamecocks found out they’re the number one overall seed. However, their opponent isn’t decided just yet. First, Sacred Heart and Presbyterian will have to play each other in one of the “First Four” games earlier in the week to determine which of them will be the number 16 seed to face off against the Gamecocks.  

Either way, the game will be played at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia on Friday, March 22 but a time for the contest was not immediately available. 

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There was no drama about seeding, since USC knew going into the day they’d be the top overall team in the tournament. The Gamecocks have been number one all season except for the preseason poll and are undefeated, the only team in the country (men’s or women’s) remaining with no losses. 

It’s also the second straight year USC has finished both the regular season and the conference tournament with no losses.  he team won its eighth regular season SEC title and its eight SEC Tournament title. 

Despite losing multiple players to the WNBA and graduation, USC hasn’t missed a beat, and has the fourth-ranked offense in the nation at 86.1 points per game, just one Gamecock ranks among the nation’s top 250 individual scorers. South Carolina’s bench is second in the nation with 33.3 points per game and has out-scored its counterparts by 20.7 points per game this season.

As a number one seed, they’ll host the first two games at home at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia. Assuming they get past both those games, they’d next play in Albany, New York for the next two rounds. 

The women’s Final Four takes place in Cleveland, Ohio with the semifinal on April 5 and the championship game on April 7. 

Ticket booklets for the NCAA Tournament first and second round games played at Colonial Life Arena are on sale now to the general public at: https://am.ticketmaster.com/gamecocks/virtual-venue/V0IyNEFTQg==. Single-session tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Mon., Mar. 18, via Ticketmaster.com.