At this time last year — as hard as it is to believe — the South Carolina Gamecocks were considered a Final Four contender but weren’t the favorite to win the national title.
Then they scored a resounding win over Notre Dame in Paris to open the season, and everything changed. South Carolina was immediately placed atop the AP Top 25 poll and never looked back to become the 10th unbeaten NCAA champion.
There’s no doubt South Carolina opens at No. 1 this season. But is there a scenario in which the Gamecocks won’t be the last team standing at the Final Four in Tampa, Florida?
UConn, USC, UCLA, Texas, Notre Dame and LSU all look like early contenders to dethrone South Carolina, making the 2024-25 title chase intriguing if not completely wide open.
If healthy, UConn should have its best team since at least 2021 in its quest for a 12th championship. Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins are the front-runners for player of the year, and Watkins now has more help at USC, which is trying to win its first national championship since the days of Cheryl Miller.
How will conference realignment impact the battle for seeding in the NCAA tournament? USC and UCLA enter the Big Ten as the favorites to win the conference, but Texas and Oklahoma seem to have more to overcome with their move to the…
