UConn vs. South Carolina: Which Team Deserves the Final NCAA No. 1 Seed?

In a major blow to Tennessee’s NCAA hopes, the team suffered two losses to Vanderbilt—one during the regular season and another in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Adding to their struggles, Tennessee dropped their final regular-season game to Georgia, an unranked team with a 13-17 record. These recent setbacks not only hurt Tennessee but also had an impact on UConn, as both teams head into the NCAA tournament in a slump rather than peaking.

Shifting focus to South Carolina, the Gamecocks had a strong start to the season, similar to UConn, by defeating several top 25 teams before their conference play began. South Carolina first bested No. 9 NC State on Nov. 10, claiming a 71-57 win at a neutral site in Charlotte. They then dominated No. 15 Iowa State 76-36 at the Fort Myers Tipoff on Nov. 28, handled No. 8 Duke 81-70 at home in the ACC-SEC challenge on Dec. 5, and steamrolled No. 9 TCU 85-52 on Dec. 8 in Fort Worth, TX.

In conference play, South Carolina kept up the momentum, defeating Texas 67-50 at home on Jan. 12, taking down No. 19 Alabama 76-58 on Jan. 16, and demolishing No. 13 Oklahoma 101-60 at home for We Back Pat week. The Gamecocks continued their success in January, earning victories over No. 5 LSU 65-55, No. 18 Tennessee 70-63 on the road, and No. 15 Kentucky 78-66 at home to finish the regular season strong.

South Carolina’s only losses, aside from their defeat to UConn, came at the hands of No. 1 seeds UCLA (77-62 on Nov. 24) and Texas (66-62 in Austin on Feb. 9). However, both UCLA and Texas are now firmly entrenched as No. 1 seeds for the tournament, with UCLA winning the Big 10 conference tournament title and Texas claiming the SEC regular-season crown. In a measure of redemption, South Carolina managed to avenge their earlier loss to Texas, defeating them 64-45 in the SEC championship on March 9.

As we head into March Madness, the final brackets will be revealed on Sunday, March 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. It would not be surprising to see South Carolina join UCLA, Texas, and USC as a No. 1 seed, with UConn, TCU, NC State, and Notre Dame likely joining the No. 2 seed ranks.

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