ALBANY, N.Y. — As the Indiana University women's basketball team prepares to take on South Carolina in New York for the Sweet 16, fans back in Bloomington are getting ready for the big game.
"Over the last few years the women's team has gotten more praise and attention not only from the Bloomington community but students so this would be absolutely amazing," Emily Frey said.
Many fans have called this team the underdog of the tournament, so they hope this game will secure them a spot in the Elite Eight.
"It's always fun in March Madness," Jodi Bakley said.
Bakley has ties to both the Hoosiers and Gamecocks. She has a son at IU and one who just graduated from South Carolina.
While she is always there to support both teams, she is rooting for the Hoosiers in this matchup.
"These girls with South Carolina have been on a run, but IU girls are showing up and doing their Hoosier thing and have to admit, we are on the Hoosier side," she said.
South Carolina feeling more pride than pressure
South Carolina comes into its Sweet 16 matchup with No. 4 seed Indiana in Albany on Friday four wins from becoming just the 10th team in NCAA women's basketball history to put up a perfect season.
South Carolina would join UConn (which has done it six times), Tennessee (1997-98), Baylor(2011-12) and Texas (1985-86).
The Gamecocks (34-0) are 105-3 over the last three seasons and 21-1 against ranked opponents over that time.
But as they approach history, guard Te-Hina Paopao says she and her teammates are feeling more pride than pressure.
“Just being able to be the fifth (different) team to win the whole thing, go undefeated, it's something that says a lot to our program and to the culture that coach has built," she said. “There's really no pressure at all. We just keep being who we are, keep playing with a chip on shoulder and just play freely.”
Indiana (26-5), meanwhile, is relishing the role of underdog. Coach Teri Moren says her players have watched TV, read all the coverage of women's basketball and understand they are not expected to win.
But she said that had just provided them with motivation.
“I think everybody else except for South Carolina right now is the underdog because of their perfect record,” she said. “I don’t know that anybody believes that South Carolina can be beat. You can certainly use that. ... You’re playing with house money. You have nothing to lose.”
The Hoosiers are one of those programs that have actually had some recent success against South Carolina, having handed the Gamecocks their only loss during the COVID-19-shortened 2019-20 season.
It's something Dawn Staley has not forgotten, even though just one player (forward Mackenzie Holmes) remains from that Indiana team.
“I actually looked back at that box score; they scored 20 fourth quarter points. We scored six," she said. “Yikes.”
“They can be very similar in style of play,” she added. “But they can be more efficient at what they’re doing and to me that’s what Indiana is.”