South Carolina vs USC LIVE, Gamecocks and Trojans Score Updates in Women's College Basketball

Despite USC's +57.0 average margin of victory through three games, analytics models lean heavily toward the battle-tested Gamecocks in Greenville.

ESPN's Matchup Predictor assigns No. 1 South Carolina an 83.6 percent win projection compared to 16.4 percent for No. 3 USC, weighing Columbia's Power Four wins over Maryland (101-93), North Carolina (84-39) and Clemson (65-44) alongside the 10:00 a.m. PT start time and Upstate crowd advantage.

Snapping South Carolina's dominance in this series requires USC to carry their 56 percent field-goal accuracy and 23.0 assists per game away from Galen Center for 40 full minutes.

Unbeaten starts dominate both powerhouse leagues two weeks into the 2026-27 season.

Inside the Big Ten, 3-0 USC sit alongside fellow undefeated contenders UCLA (3-0), Michigan (3-0), Indiana (4-0), Minnesota (4-0), Nebraska (4-0) and Rutgers (4-0). Over in the SEC, 3-0 South Carolina share unbeaten status with LSU (4-0), Texas (4-0), Oklahoma (4-0), Tennessee (4-0), Kentucky (4-0), Georgia (5-0) and Ole Miss (3-0), making today's top-three clash the premier early resume builder in the country for NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed positioning.

Few non-conference showcases match this coaching pedigree.

Staley's defensive blueprint specializes in crowding star perimeter scorers with rotating length, sending Tessa Johnson, Jordan Lee and wing defenders over ball screens while Ashlyn Watkins and Oliviyah Edwards erase layups at the rim (5.7 blocks per game). Gottlieb counters by moving JuJu Watkins off the ball into pistol actions, drag screens and post-ups at the elbow so South Carolina cannot load up two defenders at the top of the arc on every possession.

Watch the bench rotations in the 2nd quarter whenever foul trouble hits either frontcourt: South Carolina roll nine deep without losing rim protection, whereas USC lean on freshman Jazzy Davidson and center Pania Davis to bridge non-Watkins possessions.

Listed officially as a showcase neutral-floor event, Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville sits barely 100 miles northwest of Columbia up Interstate 26.

Garnet-and-black crowds have packed the 15,000-seat Upstate arena for years during SEC Tournament runs and NCAA Regional weekends, turning Greenville into a virtual home court for Staley's program. For Southern California, today's 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT body-clock) tip-off marks the Trojans' first true trip outside Los Angeles during the 2026-27 campaign after opening with three straight home dates at Galen Center.

Scan the season team sheets side by side and one statistical gap jumps straight off the page before the opening tip.

Through three games, South Carolina have coughed up 16.0 total turnovers per contest, whereas USC commit just 9.3 giveaways per outing while averaging 11.7 steals in passing lanes. Gifting extra transition runouts to Watkins, Jazzy Davidson and Kennedy Smith in the open floor is the fastest way to let USC push the tempo toward the 90s.

Conversely, South Carolina shoot a slightly higher clip from three-point land (40 percent vs USC's 38 percent) and hold Power Four offenses to 41.5 points across their last two outings (39 vs North Carolina, 44 at Clemson). Half-court defensive rebounding on Bon Secours Wellness Arena's rims dictates who controls pace across all four 10-minute quarters.

Eight months ago on March 24, 2026, South Carolina overwhelmed USC 101-61 to stamp authority on this cross-country rivalry.

Plenty of elite perimeter firepower has arrived on both benches since that 40-point March blowout. Around Watkins in Los Angeles, Gottlieb deploys five-star freshman phenom Jazzy Davidson, defensive stopper Kennedy Smith, Saniyah Hall, guard Brooklyn Shamblin, center Pania Davis and interior forward Sara Okeke, giving the Trojans far deeper ball-handling and length on the wings than they carried last spring.

Staley reloaded Columbia's depth chart with equal star power: veteran sniper Tessa Johnson and shot-blocking forward Ashlyn Watkins team up with dynamic newcomers Jerzy Robinson, Oliviyah Edwards, Jordan Lee, Ayla McDowell and post presence Adhel Tac.

While USC feasted at home against mid-major foes, No. 1 South Carolina tested its rotation against three Power Four opponents in 11 days.

Staley's club opened on Nov. 2 with a 101-93 offensive shootout win over Maryland, suffocated North Carolina 84-39 on Nov. 8 and ground out a 65-44 road victory at in-state rival Clemson on Nov. 12. Forward Joyce Edwards leads the Gamecocks in scoring at 15.3 points per contest, finishing through contact on the low block and running the floor ahead of retreating centers.

Alongside Edwards in the frontcourt, veteran forward Chloe Kitts paces South Carolina on the glass at 9.7 rebounds per game AND tops the roster in playmaking at 3.0 assists per outing from the high post. As a unit, the Gamecocks average 83.3 points scored against 58.7 allowed (+24.6 margin), shooting 46 percent overall and a lethal 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc alongside 44.0 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 9.3 steals and 5.7 blocks per game.

Nothing in college basketball has slowed down JuJu Watkins or Southern California through the opening two weeks of November.

Across three lopsided victories, Watkins paces the No. 3 Trojans in all three major box-score columns: 24.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Behind her three-level shot creation, USC average a staggering 107.7 points per game while holding opponents to 50.7 points allowed, producing a +57.0 average scoring margin across 120 minutes of basketball!

Look at the three final scores posted by Gottlieb's squad entering Greenville: 100-68 over UNLV on Nov. 2, 118-40 over Utah State on Nov. 8 and 105-44 over Charleston five days ago on Nov. 10. USC shoot 56 percent from the floor, 38 percent from three-point distance, grab 47.7 rebounds, dish 23.0 assists, swat 8.0 shots, swipe 11.7 steals and commit just 9.3 turnovers per game.

Good morning and welcome to VAVEL USA's live courtside coverage of the No. 3 USC Trojans vs No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks in the marquee non-conference clash of the early 2026-27 women's college basketball calendar. Opening tip-off inside Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT, 18:00 UTC and 19:00 CET) live on national network television via ABC.

Bragging rights over the 'SC' monogram headline four 10-minute quarters in the Upstate.

Dawn Staley's top-ranked Gamecocks arrive unbeaten at 3-0 out of the Southeastern Conference, squaring off against Lindsay Gottlieb's third-ranked Big Ten juggernaut, which also sits 3-0 after cracking 100 points in every single outing this November.

Confirmed starting fives drop prior to tip-off, followed by quarter-by-quarter updates of every basket, three-pointer, block, foul trouble shift and run.