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South Carolina

Unbeaten and unfazed

On3 imageby: Chris Wellbaum02/27/23ChrisWellbaum
dawn-staley_52610087940_o - South Carolina men's basketball - January 5 2023 - Credit Chris Gillespie Gamecock Central

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On Sunday South Carolina completed the first undefeated regular season in program history. The Gamecocks now find themselves nine games – three in the SEC Tournament and six in the NCAA Tournament – away from joining an exclusive club.

South Carolina is the tenth team in NCAA history to finish the regular season undefeated. The nine previous teams all capped their season with a national championship. Those teams were:

  • 1986 Texas (34-0)
  • 1995 UConn (35-0) 
  • 1998 Tennessee (39-0) 
  • 2002 UConn (39-0) 
  • 2009 UConn (39-0) 
  • 2010 UConn (39-0) 
  • 2012 Baylor (40-0)
  • 2014 UConn (40-0)
  • 2016 UConn (38-0)

On the men’s side, 12 teams have gone undefeated, but none since 1976. That was six years before the NCAA started sponsoring women’s basketball. More recently, Wichita State (2014) and Kentucky (2015) went undefeated before losing in the NCAA tournament.

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Going undefeated is a notoriously pressure-packed task in men’s basketball, so much so that teams often welcome a late-season loss.

There isn’t the same pressure in women’s basketball due to the relative frequency of undefeated seasons. For South Carolina, the undefeated regular season was almost an afterthought. With LSU nipping at their heels, it was just something that needed to be done to win the SEC. 

“I think we’ll be who we are,” Dawn Staley said. “Win, lose, or draw, we’ll be who we are. Losing isn’t something that we’ve done this year, so we really don’t know how we’ll respond to it. I hope we’re not even faced with it. I know this team understands the task that’s in front of them. 

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After the game, Staley told the team to take some time to appreciate what they had accomplished. That doesn’t mean they can relax.

“Definitely no relief,” Aliyah Boston said. “Now we’re into the season where winning is the only option.”

Staley agreed with Boston. There is enough pressure to win every game.

“We’re just going to forge ahead. I don’t want to put any more pressure to win than we already have. The pressure’s on us, obviously,” Staley said. “This team is used to being in pressure situations and they respond.”

South Carolina begins its postseason Friday at noon in the SEC tournament quarterfinals.

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