Gamecocks to begin season No. 2 in AP women’s Top 25
South Carolina will start the season in a familiar position.
The Gamecocks are the No. 2 team in the country behind Connecticut in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 poll that was released on Tuesday. It’s the same spot USC was in during last year’s preseason and the same spot as last week’s USA Today/coaches’ Top 25.
The Gamecocks quickly moved into the No. 1 spot last year after Connecticut lost to Stanford and stayed there until February, when the Huskies beat USC to reclaim it. The two advanced to the Final Four but did not meet. The Gamecocks lost their semifinal game to Notre Dame, which lost to UConn for the national championship.
The two teams meet again in Columbia on Feb. 8.
The Gamecocks play nine games against preseason Top 25 opponents this year. They start the season with No. 6 Ohio State, play No. 15 Arizona State in Hawaii and return home to host No. 14 Duke. In SEC play, the Gamecocks twice play No. 18 Kentucky and No. 13 Texas A&M, with one game each against No. 11 Mississippi State and No. 4 Tennessee.
USC hosts Newberry in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Friday (free admission). The season opener against the Buckeyes is at 7 p.m. one week later at Colonial Life Arena.
AP PRESEASON TOP 25
1. Connecticut
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. Tennessee
5. Baylor
6. Ohio State
7. Florida State
8. Louisville
9. Maryland
10. Oregon State
11. Mississippi State
12. Texas
13. Texas A&M
14. Duke
15. Arizona State
16. Stanford
17. Oklahoma
18. Kentucky
19. Northwestern
20. South Florida
21. George Washington
22. North Carolina
23. Syracuse
24. Michigan State
25. Chattanooga
Others receiving votes: Princeton 58, DePaul 45, Florida Gulf Coast 37, Rutgers 34, Iowa 17, California 14, Dayton 13, Arkansas 8, Western Kentucky 6, Vanderbilt 5, Iowa State 4, UCLA 4, West Virginia 4, Missouri 3, Gonzaga 2, Miami 1
CLONINGER’S PRESEASON TOP 25
1. Connecticut
2. South Carolina
3. Tennessee
4. Notre Dame
5. Ohio State
6. Louisville
7. Mississippi State
8. Baylor
9. Florida State
10. Oregon State
11. Texas
12. Arizona State
13. Kentucky
14. Maryland
15. George Washington
16. Duke
17. Texas A&M
18. Oklahoma
19. Northwestern
20. Stanford
21. South Florida
22. Chattanooga
23. Florida Gulf Coast
24. Princeton
25. Syracuse
This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 7:45 AM with the headline "Gamecocks to begin season No. 2 in AP women’s Top 25."