The Gamecocks are a No. 1 seed for the fourth consecutive season after winning both the SEC regular-season title and the conference tournament. Dawn Staley’s squad reached the Sweet 16 in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and advanced to its first Final Four in 2015. But the team sustained a big blow earlier this week when it was announced that four-time All-SEC selection Alaina Coates would miss the entire NCAA Tournament with an ankle injury.
A’ja Wilson, junior forward, South Carolina: The two-time SEC Player of the Year is averaging 17.