It took less than 10 hours for the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season to go off-script. On the first day, then-No. 1 LSU, fresh off a national championship and a roster reload via the transfer portal, lost by double digits to then-No. 20 Colorado. Almost immediately, the season felt different than previous ones.
Six days later, when No. 2 UConn lost by 11 to unranked NC State, what could have been a mundane mid-November week seemed more akin to the madness of March. The Huskies’ defeat was historic. It marked the first time in at least 25 years, the Associated Press’ preseason Nos. 1 and 2 had fallen before the second poll was released.
This season’s start has felt topsy-turvy and not just because of the programs that have been upset. It’s because of one program that seemingly never was. Yes, there have been some early-season surprises this year, but they feel especially jarring because South Carolina spoiled us all.
From October 2021 through the end of last season, the Gamecocks were the lone team ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. In the 2021-22 season, they won 35 games, lost only twice (to Missouri in overtime, and to Kentucky in the SEC championship) and were top-ranked from the opening tip to the national championship’s final buzzer, setting off celebrations…
