Gamecocks ranked No. 1 in initial WBB AP Poll

The reigning champs will start on top.

The first AP Poll of the 2022-23 women's basketball season dropped on Tuesday morning, with South Carolina unanimously ranked No. 1 in the country votes. After South Carolina, Stanford, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee rounded out the top five in the rankings.

Dawn Staley's team will face six ranked opponents, starting in the second game of the season with a road trip to No. 17 Maryland. November will also feature a top-two matchup with a trip to No. 2 Stanford on Nov. 20.

Elsewhere in non-conference play the Gamecocks will travel to Brookings to take on No. 23 South Dakota State, and National Championship Game rematch will be a ranked match-up in Hartford on Feb 5. with the No. 1 Gamecocks meeting No. 6 UConn.

In conference play South Carolina will have two games against ranked opponents, with the marquee league games coming towards the end of the slate. No. 16 LSU will travel to Columbia for a showdown on Feb. 12, and just 11 days later the Gamecocks will hit the road to face No. 5 Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.

South Carolina will open its season on Nov. 7 at home against East Tennessee State.