Sweet 16 stage is set: What lies ahead for No. 1 South Carolina in NCAA Tournament
The No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks are headed to their 10th straight Sweet 16 and 11th overall under coach Dawn Staley.
All four top seeds in USC’s Albany 1 region advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina will play No. 4 Indiana at 5 p.m. Friday at MVP Arena with a spot in the national quarterfinals at stake. The other Albany 1 regional Sweet 16 matchup features No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Oregon State. The winner of each game will meet in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
Indiana advances
No. 4 Indiana defeated No. 5 Oklahoma 75-68 Monday night to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Hoosiers are led by veteran Mackenzie Holmes, who scored 29 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots in their second-round victory. Sydney Parrish followed with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. IU committed just four turnovers against OU.
Indiana was ranked No. 14 in the latest Associated Press Top 25. They entered the NCAA Tournament with the nation’s best field goal percentage (51%) and 3-point percentage (40.2%).
More rematches in store for the Gamecocks
Should South Carolina and Notre Dame advance, it’ll be the third regular-season rematch for the Gamecocks in four NCAA Tournament games. USC beat first-round opponent No. 16 Presbyterian last week (by 52) and in December (by 70). South Carolina demolished second-round opponent No. 8 North Carolina by 47 after winning the same matchup by seven points in November.
The Gamecocks and Fighting Irish kicked off the 2023-24 season in Paris on Nov. 6. USC beat Notre Dame 100-71, but ND freshman Hannah Hidalgo scored 31 points and has since been named ACC Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Top seeds advance
All four No. 1 seeds still alive in this year’s NCAA Tournament. South Carolina (Albany 1) is joined by Texas in Portland 4 and Iowa in Albany 2 on the opposite side of the bracket along with Southern California in Portland 3.
Three of last year’s Final Four teams are still playing after No. 4 Virginia Tech fell to No. 5 Baylor in the second round Sunday night. No. 3 LSU advanced to the Sweet 16 after a comeback victory Sunday over No. 11 Middle Tennessee State in Baton Rouge.
Of the eight SEC Teams that entered the NCAA Tournament, only South Carolina and LSU remain. The Gamecocks and Tigers could only meet again (which would be the third time this season) in the national championship game. In order for that to happen, LSU would have to make it out of Albany 2 instead of Iowa.
If Iowa emerges from Albany 2, South Carolina could have a rematch of last year’s Final Four game.
