Maryland women enter Sweet 16 matchup against South Carolina as heavy underdogs

The Maryland women’s basketball team squeaked into the Sweet 16 after a double-overtime win against Alabama. Their reward? A date with the defending national champions from South Carolina on Friday.

The Gamecocks have appeared in four consecutive Final Fours. The Terrapins haven’t been since 2015 and were eliminated in the first round last season.

This year is different for Maryland, though, which is sending its men’s and women’s squads to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

“You look at how both teams won,” Maryland women’s coach Brenda Frese said, referring to men’s center Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater on Sunday night. “That’s the pride of who we are, to represent our athletic department, our university, our state on the biggest stage nationally.”

The spotlight is only getting brighter. After securing their first two wins of the tournament at home, the Maryland women will hit the road this week.

The sportsbooks aren’t optimistic. Oddsmakers view the matchup as a potential blowout, favoring the Gamecocks by 17.5 points.

South Carolina has won three national titles under coach Dawn Staley and is widely favored to make another Final Four run this season.

But the Gamecocks have almost flown under the radar this season, despite dominating the SEC and posting the second-best point differential in the country.

The group lacks an individual star.

Championship hopefuls USC, Notre Dame, LSU and UConn had multiple players named to this year’s All-America teams by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. South Carolina had none.

“It wasn’t pretty,” Staley said of the second-round win against Indiana. “But at this time, it doesn’t have to be. You just have to score more points than the other team and work the kinks out as we advance.”

Maryland will likely look to guards Kaylene Smikle, Shyanne Sellers and Sarah Te-Biasu — the team’s leading scorers — to lead the upset bid.

The Gamecocks might not field any superstars, but the tournament field is full of them. The sport hasn’t felt much of a hangover after Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese — who helped the tournament shatter viewership records last season — left for the WNBA.

The 2024-25 regular season was the most watched in 16 years, thanks in large part to household names like USC’s Juju Watkins and UConn’s Paige Bueckers. The tournament’s star power took a hit on Monday night, though.

Watkins tore her ACL during the Trojans’ second-round win over Mississippi State. No. 1 seed USC’s title hopes — and ESPN’s hopes of Watkins’ stardom powering more record ratings — took a major hit.

Watkins’ injury will cast countless “What if?” questions on the rest of the tournament. If USC wins its Sweet 16 matchup against Kansas State, the squad will likely face UConn in the Elite Eight. 

December’s showdown between the two teams drew 2.2 million viewers in the most-watched broadcast of the regular season.

Those ratings will likely take a hit without the promise of a rematch between Bueckers and Watkins.

A Trojans win against the Huskies could’ve paved the way for a USC-UCLA heavyweight bout in the Final Four.

With Watkins sidelined, college basketball fans will shift their attention to the other All-Americans remaining in the field. They’re in rich supply.

Bueckers and teammate Sarah Strong are looking to lead the Huskies to their first championship since 2016.

UCLA’s Lauren Betts, a first-team All-American, became the top remaining player from Los Angeles after Watkins’ injury.

LSU’s All-American duo of Aneesa Morrow and Flau’Jae Johnson are looking to lead the Tigers to their third consecutive Elite Eight under coach Kim Mulkey.

If the remaining stars aren’t enough to draw fans, the projected matchups might be.

ACC foes UNC and Duke square off Friday in a Sweet 16 version of a classic rivalry. Notre Dame’s high-powered backcourt of Hannah Hidalgo and Olivia Miles faces All-American guard Hailey Van Lith and TCU on Saturday afternoon. Legendary powerhouses Tennessee and Texas will follow the Notre Dame-TCU matchup on ABC.

The women’s Sweet 16 tips off on Friday afternoon.