USC and South Carolina are finally going to settle which school is the real SC… on the hardwood.
Due to both programs’ histories of national championships and current success, there has been a great debate over which school has the right to call itself the real SC. Well, that debate will finally be resolved, as the Trojans and Gamecocks will face each other twice over the next two seasons.
On November 15, 2025, the teams will meet at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Exactly one year later, the rematch will occur at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. Tickets for the first game go live on March 14.
The series, hosted by Complete Sports Management, has USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb excited about the prospect of facing one of the best programs in the country.
“We have so much respect for South Carolina and Coach Staley’s program, and in growing our own program, have looked to meet the moment by taking on the best possible challenges,” Gottlieb said in a statement via USC Athletics. “To be able to battle for ‘The Real SC’ right here at Crypto Arena in LA is truly a special opportunity.”
In addition to facing the Gamecocks, USC will also host UConn and play at Notre Dame next season in the rematches of home-and-home series the Trojans scheduled last summer for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
Gottlieb’s South Carolina counterpart, Dawn Staley, spoke about the benefits of playing this game, and not just for the strength of her team’s non-conference schedule.
“I will always choose elevating women’s basketball, and that’s especially true in scheduling,” Staley said in a statement via South Carolina Athletics. “I know Complete Sports Management has the same mission, and I like their creativity in bringing not just two great programs together but engaging their fan bases on both coasts in a debate they love to have.”
USC has historically been one of the better programs in women’s college basketball, winning back-to-back national championships in 1983 and 1984 under former head coach Linda Sharp when Cheryl Miller, Cynthia Cooper, and Pamela and Paula McGee graced the floor for the Trojans. South Carolina, meanwhile, may be the best women’s basketball program this century, as the Gamecocks have won all three of their national championships under Staley since she took over the team in 2008.
Both teams are among the nation’s best in college basketball this season, as USC (28-3) won its first Big Ten regular-season title on March 1, while South Carolina (30-3) split the SEC regular-season title with Texas before winning the SEC Tournament on Sunday. Both are currently projected to be No. 1 seeds in ESPN’s latest March Madness bracketology and may wind up facing each other in the Final Four or the national championship.
Before The Real SC series even begins, both teams will look to make deep runs in March Madness this year and bring home a national title for their fan bases.