Heading into the women’s NCAA tournament, the South Carolina Gamecocks (30-3) have as many losses as they did in the past three seasons combined. They shared the SEC regular-season title with Texas, and the Gamecocks won the conference tourney, but they aren’t No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. And they have one blowout loss on their résumé, falling at home to UConn by 29 points on Feb. 16.
Yet the Gamecocks remain a favorite to reach their fifth consecutive Final Four, and they perhaps headline the short list of national championship contenders.
But this year, the title isn’t South Carolina’s to lose, which is how it felt the past two campaigns when the Gamecocks entered the NCAA tournament undefeated before running the table for the program’s third championship last season and losing in the national semifinals in 2023.
The top contenders for the 2024-25 championship are a mix of teams that have won the NCAA title in the past decade and others that haven’t even played in the Final Four during that time. While it’s always possible a surprise…
