In October 2022, the University of South Carolina announced it would return to using “USC” as its official acronym, following a three-year period in which the university adopted the acronym “UofSC” to avoid confusion with the University of Southern California.

The rebrand made a clear statement from South Carolina: They were the original, and thus the true, “SC.” In the three years since then, however, both schools have continued to use the acronym, leaving the identity of the “Real SC” up in the air — until now.

Saturday night, No. 8 USC women’s basketball (2-0) will face off against No. 2 South Carolina (3-0) in a primetime event at Crypto.com Arena, fittingly named “The Real SC.” While the winner will not literally stake a claim to the acronym, the top-eight matchup will serve as a massive early test for both squads, with the victor emerging with a legitimate case to be the No.1 team in the country. 

“If you’re trying to be elite in women’s basketball, you’ve got to play really good nonconference games,” Head Coach Lindsay Gottlieb said in a post-practice news conference Thursday. “You’ve got to play in big games. You have to play on big stages.”

In recent years, the Trojans and Gamecocks have cemented their status as two of the top programs in women’s basketball, both garnering No. 1 seeds in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. Yet, the teams haven’t met since 2014, when South Carolina took down USC 70-61 in its season opener en route to its first-ever Final Four appearance.

While the Gamecocks haven’t seen much change since then, racking up six more Final Four berths and three national titles, the Trojans are in a much different position than they were 11 years ago, going from a 15-15 finish in that 2014-15 season to back-to-back Elite Eight bids and a combined 60 wins in the past two years. 

Saturday’s matchup will not only determine which team is “The Real SC” — at least, until they meet for the second game of the series next season — but mark a major milestone in USC’s ascent to the top of women’s basketball as the Trojans seek to prove that, even without superstar junior guard JuJu Watkins, they can compete with any team in the country.

“It’s such an advantage having a tough schedule early,” senior guard Kara Dunn said in a post-practice news conference Thursday. “[We’re] making sure that we’re locked in from the get-go, and I think that we can only go up from here.”

Trojans look for cleaner play after improbable comeback

USC already has a top-10 win under its belt after taking down No. 10 NC State (2-1) on Sunday, storming back from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter to escape with a 69-68 victory. In just the second game of her collegiate career, freshman guard Jazzy Davidson paced the Trojans with 21 points, five blocks and three steals and scored the go-ahead layup with just eight seconds left in the game.

Through USC’s first two games, Davidson leads the team in points scored, assists and blocks, showcasing the multi-faceted talent that led to her being ranked as the Class of 2025’s No. 1 recruit. However, Davidson has struggled with efficiency, shooting 18.8% on 3-pointers and just over 30% overall — a trend the Trojans will need to break if they want to get past South Carolina’s defense, which has allowed just 46 points per game to start the season.

Senior guard Londynn Jones has also been a major factor for USC, tying Davidson’s 35 points through two games despite coming off the bench in both. Jones, a UCLA transfer, has done so at a much better clip than her freshman teammate, shooting 12-for-25 overall and 4-for-12 from deep.

“Londynn is a huge part of everything that we’re trying to do,” Gottlieb said in a post-practice news conference Thursday. “We’re not going to achieve what we want to achieve unless she’s playing at a high level, and she’s done an incredible job.”

As a team, the Trojans have struggled on free-throw shooting, hitting just 63.3% of their 49 attempts — a far cry from their 77.3% mark last season. That inability to convert from the charity stripe nearly cost them the game against NC State; after being fouled with just one second on the clock and a one-point lead, USC junior guard Malia Samuels missed both of her free throws, providing the Wolfpack with a chance to win had they gotten a shot off in time.

Gamecocks pose major threat despite absences

The Trojans made it through NC State despite inefficient shooting and rebounding, but they will have no room for error against a group of Gamecocks that looks poised to compete for a championship again after winning it all in 2024 and reaching the title game in 2025. However, South Carolina will be without several of its key players, potentially opening the door for USC to add another upset to its early-season resume.

After averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last year, senior forward Chloe Kitts will miss the entire 2025-26 season after tearing her ACL in October — joining fellow senior forward Ashlyn Watkins, who continues to recover from an ACL injury of her own suffered in January.  

The Gamecocks will also be missing sophomore guard Maddy McDaniel, a former McDonald’s All-American, who was suspended indefinitely by the team earlier this week for unspecified reasons.

Nevertheless, South Carolina still has one of the deepest rosters in the country, featuring a myriad of potent scorers for the Trojans to be wary of. Sophomore forward Joyce Edwards, who was tabbed for the preseason All-SEC First Team, leads the Gamecocks with 18.3 points per game on a remarkable 60% shooting. 

Edwards is joined by junior guard Tessa Johnson and senior guard Ta’Niya Latson, both of whom are averaging over 15 points per game as well. Johnson will be a major threat from deep, having shot 7-for-15 on 3-point attempts so far, and Latson combines high scoring efficiency with a strong ability to draw fouls and convert at the line.

“[They’re] explosive. They defend. They get out in transition,” Gottlieb said of South Carolina. “They’re very lethal.”

The Trojans enter the matchup as major underdogs — ESPN gave the Gamecocks an 83% chance of winning — but if they can pull off the upset, they would emerge with the most impressive win on any team’s resume so far this season, as well as one of the most important victories of the Gottlieb era. Back-to-back top-10 wins would also solidify Gottlieb and company as a true threat come March, despite starting the season with a mere No. 18 ranking.

USC and South Carolina will battle for the “Real SC” title at the Crypto.com Arena on Saturday; tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.