South Carolina Women’s Basketball Nonconference Slate Unveiled: Five Key Takeaways
COLUMBIA — South Carolina officially rolled out its 2024-25 nonconference schedule on Friday, and while it may not be as daunting as last year’s gauntlet, it still packs plenty of intrigue. Here are the biggest storylines from the release:
1. A Softer Challenge Compared to Last Season
Last year’s slate was loaded with heavyweights. South Carolina faced nonconference opponents ranked as high as No. 2, No. 5, No. 8, No. 9, and No. 11 in the preseason AP Poll, with several of those teams finishing inside the top 10 by season’s end. Eight of those opponents reached the NCAA Tournament.
Even coach Dawn Staley admitted that last year’s schedule might have been too tough. This time around, the pendulum swings back. The competition is still strong, but not the same gauntlet as before.
2. Don’t Be Fooled—It’s Still Tough
While the newly announced games lack the name recognition of last year’s matchups, South Carolina still faces seven teams that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
That includes programs ranked as high as third, fifth, and seventh in last year’s final AP Poll. Preseason projections from The Athletic and ESPN also place several opponents inside the top 20.
Complicating matters further, none of the toughest games are at home. The showdown against Southern Cal in Los Angeles would have been a marquee top-five matchup—possibly even No. 1 vs. No. 2—if USC star Juju Watkins hadn’t torn her ACL.
Staley has been vocal about balancing competition with reward, saying last March that if the NCAA doesn’t recognize strength of schedule in seeding, it may not be worth scheduling quite as aggressively.
Of course, the SEC schedule will ensure plenty of challenges, with multiple league opponents ranked in the top 10 across major outlets.
3. A Familiar Formula—with One Big Absence
The slate includes the usual mix: a few marquee games (Duke, UCLA/Texas, Louisville, Southern Cal), a collection of quality mid-majors (USF, Florida Gulf Coast, Grand Canyon), and several HBCUs and local programs (NC Central, Coppin State, Winthrop, Queens).
But one thing is missing: the blockbuster home game.
In recent years, Columbia has hosted titans like UConn, UCLA, Maryland, and Stanford. This year, the best nonconference visitor might be Grand Canyon or Clemson—solid opponents, but hardly the kind that generate national buzz.
4. The Decline of Home-and-Homes
Traditional home-and-home series aren’t gone, but they’re becoming rarer. Many elite matchups are shifting to neutral sites, where NIL opportunities and financial incentives are greater.
Staley recently addressed this trend during her appearance on Michelle Obama’s podcast:
“We play games for money, and that money goes directly to our players. Things like that now, we have to go away from our home. We’ve got to give up home games and play a lot of games on neutral sites in order for us to do that. But to stay in this space and to be competitive, you have to do some out-of-the-box things.”
5. The Coppin State Surprise
Perhaps the biggest eyebrow-raiser is the January 18 road trip to Coppin State. Not only does it mean giving up a valuable conference bye, but the timing feels odd—especially for a return game against a MEAC school.
But there may be a recruiting angle. Two of the nation’s top five prospects in the 2027 class—Ivanna Wilson-Manyacka and Jezelle Banks—hail from Baltimore, and both are on South Carolina’s radar.
As Staley hinted last year when Coppin State visited Columbia, this matchup was always in the works. It turns out, she was serious.
Full Nonconference Schedule (With 2024-25 Opponent Records)
- Nov. 3 – Grand Canyon (32-3, NCAA 1st Round)
- Nov. 7 – Bowling Green (18-13)
- Nov. 11 – Clemson (14-17)
- Nov. 15 – at Southern Cal (31-4, Elite Eight)
- Nov. 19 – Winthrop (14-15)
- Nov. 23 – Queens (10-19)
- Nov. 26 – vs. Duke (29-8, Elite Eight)
- Nov. 27 – vs. UCLA/Texas (both Final Four teams)
- Dec. 4 – at Louisville (22-11, NCAA 2nd Round)
- Dec. 7 – NC Central (9-21)
- Dec. 14 – Penn State (10-19)
- Dec. 18 – at USF (23-11, NCAA 1st Round)
- Dec. 20 – at Florida Gulf Coast (30-4, NCAA 1st Round)
- Dec. 28 – Providence (13-19)
- Jan. 18 – at Coppin State (19-15)
This schedule may lack last year’s overwhelming star power, but between the neutral-site blockbusters, tricky road trips, and recruiting-motivated stops, South Carolina still faces a compelling road to March.
