South Carolina WBB schedule coming together quickly. Here’s what to know
A road game against the defending national champions and home games against two of the SEC’s up-and-coming programs await South Carolina women’s basketball in 2023-24.
USC, coming off a third straight Final Four, will travel to LSU and host Ole Miss and Tennessee during conference play, according to a list of home and away opponents announced Wednesday.
ESPN also announced Wednesday that South Carolina will play at North Carolina on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. during the 2023 ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge — a prominent non-conference game against a Tar Heels team that’s made three straight NCAA Tournaments and gave USC a run for its money in the 2022 Sweet 16.
For its SEC schedule, South Carolina got a favorable enough split for the top teams. The Gamecocks will play five of the SEC’s other six NCAA Tournaments teams at home this season.
USC gets Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee at home in Colonial Life Arena while visiting LSU in what’ll likely be the conference’s most-hyped game of the season.
The Tigers, led by colorful coach Kim Mulkey, beat Iowa to win the school’s first women’s basketball title in April and enter this season with a big three of forward Angel Reese, DePaul transfer forward Aneesah Morrow and Louisville transfer guard Hailey Van Lith.
USC, meanwhile, will blend key veterans including forward Kamilla Cardoso and guard Raven Johnson with newcomers such as Oregon transfer Te-Hina Paopao and five-star recruit MiLaysia Fulwiley on a significantly overhauled roster.
Staley’s Gamecocks — who went a perfect 16-0 in SEC play last season, sweeping the league’s regular season and conference tournament titles — have Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee as repeat opponents this year. They’ll play those teams both at home and on the road.
South Carolina, coming off a 36-1 season, will play the SEC’s other 10 teams just once. Outside of the LSU road game, the hottest tickets will likely be South Carolina’s two games against Tennessee and home game against Ole Miss.
Both the Volunteers and the Rebels — coached by Yolett “Coach Yo” McPhee-McCuin, who considers Staley a close friend and mentor — made Sweet 16 runs last year and have retooled for 2023-24. They also weren’t far behind USC in ESPN’s postseason way-too-early top 25.
LSU was No. 1 on that list released in May, with South Carolina at No. 8, Ole Miss at No. 11 and Tennessee at No. 12.
Also of note: South Carolina’s three closest SEC games last year came against Mississippi State (+7 margin of victory), Ole Miss (+7) and Georgia (+10). The Gamecocks will play all three of those teams at home this season.
Here’s a full list of South Carolina’s home/away opponents in alphabetical order. The times and dates for these 16 SEC games will be announced at a later date.
As a reminder, USC has previously announced two non-conference games: a historic Nov. 6 season opener against Notre Dame in Paris, the aforementioned Nov. 30 game at UNC and a Dec. 10 game against Utah for the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase in Uncasville, Connecticut.
South Carolina WBB SEC schedule
- Home games (8): Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt
- Away games (8): Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M
South Carolina men’s basketball update
South Carolina men’s basketball also learned its 2023 ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge opponent Wednesday. The Gamecocks, entering Year 2 under coach Lamont Paris, will play Notre Dame on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m.
The Gamecocks are assembling a flashy non-conference schedule as they try to rebound from an 11-21 season. South Carolina is taking its first foreign trip since 2016 in August, playing two exhibitions in the Bahamas, and will play in the Arizona Tip-Off and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s College Series in November ahead of that ND game.
USC will play DePaul and either Grand Canyon or San Francisco in the first challenge in greater Phoenix and Virginia Tech in the second challenge in the Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.
This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 10:20 AM with the headline "South Carolina WBB schedule coming together quickly. Here’s what to know."
