South Carolina set to meet Maryland and Duke-North Carolina to face off in Birmingham Regional

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley knows how hard it is to repeat as champion.

Her team has won three national championships in the past seven years, but the Gamecocks haven’t been able to defend their title either time, losing in the Elite Eight and the Final Four the next year.

This time her team , which is facing Maryland on Friday in the Sweet 16, is trying to repeat after going undefeated last season. ACC rivals Duke and North Carolina will meet in the other March Madness regional semifinal game in Birmingham, Alabama.

“I think the biggest thing in winning the championship and then coming back is the players seem to forget how hard it was. We won. We were undefeated,” she said. “You can kind of get drunk off that success and think, oh, we can do it again. It’s much harder than they could have ever imagined. We had to work through not playing our best basketball early and not playing to the standard that we were used to. Those lessons came with a few losses this season that we needed.”

The Gamecocks (32-3), who have reached 11 straight Sweet 16s now lost at UCLA, Texas and at home to Connecticut. The 29-point loss to the Huskies in the middle of February ended a 71-game home winning streak, but seemed to refocus the Gamecocks.

They haven’t lost since, blowing past their opponents with no game within single digits.

“Every single one of our losses came at a time when we needed it, and we came out better because of it. I hope it’s enough to get us to the finish line,” Staley said.

Next up is a Maryland team that won a thrilling 111-108 double overtime game over Alabama on Monday. The Terrapins have had little time to get ready for Friday’s game. After the second-round win, the team was off Tuesday to recover and then traveled to Alabama on Wednesday. The Terrapins had their first practice Thursday.

“It’s really tough because South Carolina had an additional day. And then you look at a game where we had multiple players play close to the entire 50 minutes,” coach Brenda Frese said. “A lot of rest and reset for them. For our staff, around the clock with the scouting that has to take place. … Then getting back to actual practice today. A lot has been going on.”

The two teams have met once previously in the NCAA Tournament when South Carolina came away with an 86-75 win in the Elite Eight in 2023.

Rivalry renewed

Duke coach Kara Lawson said she had no idea that the Blue Devils and North Carolina had never met in the NCAA Tournament in their illustrious history. She didn’t really seem to care that it was the school’s rival standing in the way of the first trip to the Elite Eight since 2013.

“We haven’t really talked about that with our team in terms of a first meeting or anything,” she said. “I didn’t know that until you said that. We’re fighting for a spot in the Elite Eight, and so whoever the opponent is, is the opponent.”

North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said the rivalry is bigger than just her and Lawson, since they have only been at the schools for a half-dozen years. She appreciates that they will meet on the big stage.

“I celebrate along with all the sports fans that have been watching so many Duke-Carolina battles throughout the years and that we’re in charge of it in this moment,” she said. “We did it. We got you guys an NCAA Tournament game between Carolina-Duke. I mean, if that doesn’t get your blood going, you should check it. You should get it checked because it should be really great for the sport.”

Fan of the game

Staley said she watched the Alabama-Maryland game. She at first was rooting for her fellow SEC school, but as the game went on that changed.

“I was actually cheering for the SEC because I know how hard it is in our league, and I wanted our league to be rewarded for just being the best, most competitive league. That’s just the SEC in me,” she said. “But Maryland hung in there. You know, they hung in there, and they made an incredible comeback. Then you start — then you start looking at Maryland, like, oh, they came back. Should they win it? I was looking at it from a fan and not necessarily the next opponent, which is cool. So you can compartmentalize being a fan and it being our next opponent and really appreciating.”

Health check

Duke freshman Toby Fournier missed the second-round game against Oregon with an illness. She said she felt a lot better Thursday.

“I’m feeling great. I’m here. I’m well-rested, well-hydrated. I’m ready to go,” she said.

She’s averaged 13.4 points and 5.2 rebounds this season while shooting 53.2% from the field.