Dawn Staley has no control over this portion of the schedule as it’s set by the league. We don’t yet know the dates for the SEC opponents. I wouldn’t be surprised if the LSU game gets scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday as that matchup drew big ratings on the same date last season. This is the last season of the SEC schedule format of 10-3-3, meaning Carolina plays ten teams once, and home-and-home matchups with three teams.

The new format begins in 2024-25, when Oklahoma and Texas join the SEC. Each team will still play 16 games, playing one rotating home-and-home opponent and the other 14 teams once.

Dawn does not believe in the Kim Mulkey out of conference schedule model. She is not scheduling cupcakes to open a season full of new starters. Eight of Carolina’s 13 announced opponents made the NCAA Tournament last season.

The most recent matchup announced matchup is a December 30th contest at East Carolina. The Pirates won the AAC Tournament last season and return all five starters.

Some other announced games: The Gamecocks venture into the Tar Heel State for the SEC/ACC challenge on November 30th. It will be the first matchup with UNC since the 2022 Sweet 16.

Carolina will open the NCAA WBB season in Paris against another ACC foe in Notre Dame. South Carolina had previously confirmed scheduled home games against Maryland, Stanford, South Dakota State, Clemson, and UConn. The Gamecocks will also play Utah on December 10 in Uncasville, Connecticut. Carolina owes Charleston Southern a game in the Holy City.

South Carolina is currently at 26 games (16 conference and ten non-conference). That means that Dawn will need to find three more opponents. One will likely be a HBCU foe. Dawn has shown a superstitious tendency to play games in South Dakota so she could opt for one more road trip to the Mt Rushmore State. I’d expect the other game or two to be a gimme early in the year.