South Carolina women’s basketball the No. 1 seed in March Madness, must wait for NCAA opponent
South Carolina women's basketball is the No. 1 overall seed for March Madness.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 1 Gamecocks (32-0) will take on the winner of No. 16 seeds Presbyterian (20-14) and Sacred Heart (24-9), who will face off in a First Four matchup on Wednesday in Colonial Life Arena.
South Carolina will play its first-round game Friday (2 p.m., ESPN).
South Carolina will host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, including the First Four matchup. The Gamecocks are in the Albany Regional for the second weekend of March Madness and would travel to Cleveland, Ohio, if they reach the Final Four.
The other game in Columbia will be between No. 8 North Carolina (19-12) and No. 9 Michigan State (22-8). The winners of the first-round game will play Sunday, March 24.
Presbyterian reached its first ever March Madness, claiming the Big South Tournament championship as the No. 5 seed. South Carolina beat Presbyterian 99-29 on Dec. 16.
Sacred Heart won the Northeast Conference to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and fifth time in program history.
The Gamecocks have been projected as the No. 1 overall seed for most of the season and were chosen No. 1 on both of the committee's top 16 reveals during the year. South Carolina has been ranked first in every poll since the second week of the season.
The Gamecocks rolled their way through their schedule, marching to a second straight undefeated regular season. After claiming the SEC regular season championship, South Carolina went into Greenville and won three in a row to claim a second title in the SEC Tournament.
South Carolina will look to win its third national championship and reach its fourth consecutive Final Four. Head coach Dawn Staley led the Gamecocks to their first national title in 2017, then brought them to a second title in 2022.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: South Carolina women's basketball No. 1 seed in March Madness, waits for opponent
