Monster win this afternoon by Texas. The whole game it felt like Texas was going to win, though South Carolina made it close.
Texas really outplayed South Carolina in the paint. Taylor Jones was a warrior in the first half and played great, then Kyla Oldacre was dominant in the second on the glass and finishing inside. Madison Booker missed a lot of shots but really battled this game and seemed laser focused after a poor showing their first matchup.
For South Carolina, everything just felt a little flat. It's like everyone on the roster was playing at a 6.5 out of 10 and that's not going to get the job done on the road against a top 5 team. I think the lack of having an obvious go to player hurt them today, though their depth is usually their best asset. There were a lot of whistles in the first half, including a couple pretty bad calls that went against Feagin. I thought the reffing smoothed out in the 2nd half and both teams had moments of finding their rhythm.
Also, I wonder if this will re-invigorate the Dawn/Vic rivalry that dominated the SEC for a few years. Going down memory lane you had:
2017-their teams met in the title game. Dawn's team won for the 3rd time that year and won the title.
2018-Mississippi State won the regular season battle, Dawn's team upset them in the SEC Tournament and ruined their perfect season
2020-Mississippi State nearly upset South Carolina in Columbia in a fantastic game
2021-Vic's Cinderella Texas team got clobbered by South Carolina in the Elite 8
Today's a new chapter in the rivalry, as it's Vic's first win over Dawn since the 2019 season, and it's South Carolina's first SEC loss since 2021.
I think Texas should get a bump to the #1 line over USC. On the year now they have wins over South Carolina, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. Still have upcoming games at Kentucky and vs. LSU at home.
South Carolina is safely on the 1 line, either as the #2 or #3 overall seed. I think they're fine--this was going to be a tough game to win for anybody, playing in front of a sold out crowd on the road. Home court advantage seems to be a massive thing this year, as almost every loss by a top 10 team has been in a neutral/road setting. The only exceptions being Notre Dame winning at USC, USC winning at UCONN, and South Carolina winning at TCU.