March Madness 2025: Top 3 reasons South Carolina will fall short of back-to-back national titles

The South Carolina women's basketball team could have predicted that the 2024-25 season wouldn't be as impressive as the year before. Carolina not only won its third NCAA Tournament title in a handful of years, but the Gamecocks went perfect. There's only one way to go from there. Still, a 30-3 Gamecock team remains formidable.

But as the NCAA Tournament approaches, this Carolina team, unlike the last one, has some holes. Here are three major reasons why Carolina won't repeat as champions.

Three reasons South Carolina won't repeat as champs

Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies beat South Carolina by 29 points earlier this season. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

1. Inconsistent shooting

This Carolina team doesn't have a single big-bucket scorer. Its leading scorer, freshman Joyce Edwards, started just one game all year. And in contrast with a year ago, this offense is capable of bogging down. The 29-point loss to UConn on Feb. 15 was proof of that.

If teams can keep Carolina under 40% shooting, it is very susceptible to lose. The Gamecocks are 28-0 when they shoot over 40% and just 2-3 when they come in under that mark.

Incidentally, the team from a season ago had four sub-40% games and won all four by seven or more points.

2. The 3-point defense can be iffy

While Carolina still mainly distinguishes itself on the defensive end of the floor, that's not to indicate there aren't some points to exploit. USC allows opponents to shoot 29.3% from 3-point range. That's good, but certainly not great (95th of the 300-and-odd Division I teams).

One of the ways to stick around with Carolina is to get hot from long range. Carolina has allowed opponents to make 10 3-pointers four times all season. Those opponents were 2-2 in those games. It's not the only way to beat USC but it's one possibility.

Last year's team allowed five 10 3-pointer games, with the biggest March close call (a four-point win over Indiana) among those.

3. No Cardoso, no rebounding edge

It's almost odd to imagine it, given how explosive and athletic USC was a year ago, but this isn't an unparalleled rebounding team. A year ago, do-everything 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso held down the post.

She's gone and USC's top rebounder this year is 6-2. Nobody taller than 6-3 sees meaningful minutes for the Gamecocks.

This means that Carolina can be beaten on the glass. In the three losses, USC's respective rebounding margins were -16, -6 and -7. None of this is intended to claim that the Gamecocks can't rebound. They can; they're just not great at it.

Overall, that's a good lens to consider this Carolina team. Still good, still in the title hunt, but with several key flaws, any of which could lead to an early exit from March Madness.

What did you think of Carolina's weaknesses? Share your take below in our comments section!