My condolences to whoever plays South Carolina. May the odds be ever in your favor.

The NCAA selection committee gave South Carolina a No. 2 overall seed, and I fear for the repercussions.

Here's how we got here: Following a brutal game against UConn, the Gamecocks won seven straight games, including three against ranked opponents, taking down No. 1-ranked Texas, too. However, that wasn't enough to get them the top seed for the 2025 women's NCAA tournament. That honor went to UCLA, whose only two losses this season came from the USC Trojans.

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What kept Dawn Staley's squad from getting the nod? They lost a head-to-head with the Bruins earlier this season and the blowout loss to the Huskies. "I'm a little bit surprised because we manufacture our schedule [to] put ourselves in the position to be the No. 1 overall seed," Staley said. "I do think if you do the blind test, and you put our resume against any other team in the field, I think you'll pick us."

"I'm a little bit surprised because we manufactued our schedule to be the No. 1 overall seed. ... It's hard enough to win a national championship, we don't need a chip on our shoulder."

—Dawn Staley discussed South Carolina not getting the No. 1 overall seed with @sportsiren pic.twitter.com/ck6WUPf66C
— espnW (@espnW) March 17, 2025

Whatever your thoughts on South Carolina's not being the No. 1 overall seed, one thing remains clear: This just gave the Gamecocks bulletin board material.

"The committee is the committee. We don't have an extra chip on our shoulder because we're not the number one seed," Staley told the SEC Network. Sure. We'll go with that. If it isn't a chip, it's serious motivation and something she nor her team will forget. They may never speak about it publicly again, but TRUST ME; the reverberations will be felt.

As its repeat tour continues, I offer my deepest condolences to whoever stands in South Carolina's way. May the odds be ever in your favor.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Condolences to whoever plays South Carolina. May odds be in your favor

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My condolences to whoever plays South Carolina. May the odds be ever in your favor.

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