Welcome to 2024, which looks a lot like 2023, at least at the top of these rankings. South Carolina handles the pressure of being No. 1 well. It has now been more than two years since the Gamecocks lost a regular-season game, and that was in overtime at Missouri on Dec. 30, 2021.
South Carolina headlines a group of seven remaining undefeated teams, as three schools took their first loss of the season within the past week. At least two more teams will no longer be unbeaten when these rankings next debut, so for now, let’s check in with the select seven who escaped 2023 unscathed.
Dropped out: Miami (22), Texas A&M (24)
Almost famous: Syracuse, Texas A&M, Washington
Gamecocks’ opponents shoot batting averages
South Carolina is a statistical anomaly at this point of the season. The Gamecocks have the best offensive rating in the country, besting Iowa by 2.5 points per 100 possessions, per Her Hoop Stats. They also have the best defensive rating in the country by 7.9 points per 100 possessions. The gap between South Carolina and second-place Stanford is bigger than the gap between the Cardinal and the 25th-best defense in the country, Washington. Opponents shoot 28.3 percent from the field against the Gamecocks, which almost defies comprehension. That’s a batting average, not a…
