COLOMBIA – The South Carolina women’s basketball team arrived in Texas on March 16 and was immediately taken to the hotel, where the Gamecocks faced another round of COVID-19 tests before returning together for their maiden trip to the Alamodome in San Antonio. , and the first attempt to get acquainted with the court.
Another strange moment in a strange year. Gamecocks were supposed to be walking through the Colonial Life Arena parking lots of their 650 Lincoln dorm, seeing the blue carpets issued by the NCAA being placed in the CLA hallways with signs pointing to the various changing rooms and media areas. The other teams at Regional Columbia must be arriving and getting used to the environment.
Instead, all 64 teams in the NCAA women’s tournament are in Texas this week in the same situation. Quarantine at the hotel until it’s time to play, and for the four teams to arrive on the weekend of April 2-4, get used to these four walls: Teams cannot go home between rounds.
Two home games to start the NCAA Tournament are a privilege for the best teams of the regular season. But due to the pandemic, the first two rounds of this year are split between the venues in San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin, before the last four are all played at the Alamodome. Even Texas, the sixth seed in a region, did not get home games in Austin as it would be unfair to others. Instead, the Longhorns were sent to San Marcos.
Gamecocks played their first two tournament games in Columbia every year, except one since 2015 (in 2019, they played in Charlotte due to the CLA being reserved for a regional NCAA men’s tournament). Yes, it is difficult to take what they have won, but this was expected this year.
“I will be happy just because we can play,” said coach Dawn Staley. “We are going to try to suppress what we were used to playing in the first two rounds, which looked like Greenville (at the SEC tournament) last week, but most importantly, everyone was in a situation where ‘I played for a few fans. “
From 2003 to 14, the NCAA women’s tournament chose 16 venues for the first and second rounds and assigned teams during the selection show. They would normally limit themselves to choosing known power sites (Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina, Connecticut) and the home team would naturally play there, assuming they made it to the tournament.
South Carolina did not qualify for the tournament with Staley until 2012, and would not have been considered for a predetermined location due to the program’s recent lack of success. However, even if it had won many games, the NCAA would not have considered Columbia and CLA.
The NCAA’s ban on predetermined events taking place in states that still held the Confederacy flag on state lands made it impossible for USC to host. Gamecocks were forced to travel in 2012, 2013 and 2014, traveling to West Lafayette, Ind.; Boulder, Colorado; and Seattle, advancing to Sweet 16 in first and last place.
In 2015, the rule changed. The NCAA adopted a system like baseball and softball, in which teams conquered their websites in the first two rounds during the regular season. Gamecocks were in a phase where they won at least 29 games per season and easily qualified for home games every year, going 8-0 during CLA tournament games.
They would have played two games at home last year, so the pandemic forced the tournament to be canceled.
“We are very excited about the opportunity. Last year was taken very quickly, ”said central Aliyah Boston. “We are very excited to see what happens in San Antonio.”
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.