No. 1 South Carolina WBB cruises past UNC and into NCAA Sweet 16
Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks (33-0) continue their journey into March Madness at 1 p.m. Sunday (ABC) with a second-round game against No. 8 seed North Carolina at Colonial Life Arena.
The State’s Payton Titus and Chapel Fowler are on site to provide updates from the game. Follow along as USC tries to take its next step toward a third NCAA national championship.
Final score: USC 88, UNC 41
So, about that 21.5-point spread ... Too low?
No. 1 overall seed South Carolina left no room for doubt in this one, full-court pressing No. 8 UNC off the opening tip and leading for 39:41 of a possible 40 minutes in a 47-point blowout win. The Gamecocks advance to a Sweet 16 game on Friday in Albany against either No. 4 Indiana or No. 5 Oklahoma.
UNC had season lows in points and field goal percentage, and the Gamecocks reminded everyone why they’re undefeated and odds-on title favorites. This one, at times, didn’t look like a matchup of Power Five teams who were within seven points of each other in November. It’s onto the second weekend.
The Tar Heels had two quarters with fewer than 10 points. And four Gamecocks had double-digit points (including three off the bench). This was a clinic.
End Q3: USC 70, UNC 34
South Carolina remains in complete control, up 36 points after three quarters. UNC was far more competitive and outscored USC 15-14 in that period, but it didn’t do much to change the Tar Heels’ deficit.
MiLaysia Fulwiley is becoming the Gamecocks’ go-to tournament scorer and is up to 16 points on 6-9 shooting. The Gamecocks are also taking advantage of a sparse UNC bench and have 21 fast break points against what’s looking more and more like a gassed Tar Heels squad.
Ten more minutes separate undefeated South Carolina from a spot in the Sweet 16 in Albany.
Halftime: USC 56, UNC 19
The blowout is on. Like, really on. South Carolina is up 37 points on UNC at halftime, in a matchup that looks a lot more like Friday’s game against 16 seed Presbyterian than a second round game against an 8 seed.
It’s really a pick your poison, statistically. USC is 8 of 10 on 3-pointers, has assists on 14 of 19 made field goals and has three bench players (MiLaysia Fulwiley, Tessa Johnson, Chloe Kitts) in double figures. UNC is 23% from the field and 14% on 3-pointers and has 11 turnovers.
This was a UNC team that had USC on the ropes in its home arena and only lost by seven points in November. But this game has been the complete opposite. South Carolina on cruise control.
End Q1: USC 28, UNC 8
A bit of feeling out to start the first quarter with neither team shooting particularly well. Then, boom. USC with a 11-0 run over 1:36 (that’s 96 seconds) to go from up 13-8 to up 24-8. Colonial Life Arena was absolutely deafening during that stretch, which forced a UNC timeout. Gamecocks will enter the second period up 20.
In all, that was a 15-0 USC run to end the first quarter and 17-2 run over the final 3:15 while UNC finished making zero of its last six shots and two of its last 11. Another big game for bench players: Tessa Johnson has two 3-pointers and MiLaysia Fulwiley has 5 points, an assist and two steals.
Bree Hall update
Hall, who missed Friday’s game for “precautionary reasons,” participated in pregame warmups (after taking an extra 15 minutes or so to get out to the court), and is set to play against UNC, as she and Staley forecasted Saturday. Hall is wearing a compression sleeve on her left knee.
Betting line
South Carolina is a significant favorite in this game. ESPN BET has the Gamecocks favored by 21.5 points on Sunday against the Tar Heels. USC was a whopping 54.5-point favorite in its first round game Friday against 16 seed Presbyterian College.
Sweet 16 opponent
There are two possible Sweet 16 opponents for Sunday’s USC-UNC winner. Within the Albany 1 region, No. 4 Indiana beat No. 13 Fairfield and No. 5 Oklahoma beat No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast in Sunday games.
Indiana and Oklahoma will play a second round game Monday in Bloomington, Ind., with the winner advancing to Albany to play the USC/UNC winner next Friday (March 29).
Watch South Carolina today
Who: No. 1 South Carolina (33-0) vs. No. 8 North Carolina (20-12)
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: ABC
Radio: 107.5 FM locally (see full list of affiliates here)
Next up: The winner of South Carolina-UNC will advance to a Sweet 16 game in Albany, New York next Friday against either No. 4 Indiana or No. 5 Oklahoma (those teams play Monday)
