A Hater's Guide to UConn vs. South Carolina

For those that have no dog, or Cock in the fight, I’m here to help you figure out who to hate on.

Women’s basketball is the gift that keeps on giving and this week we are blessed with yet another showdown between, dare I say it, rivals? #7 UConn heads down to Columbia, S.C. to take on the #4 South Carolina Gamecocks today at 1 p.m. and for those that have no dog, or Cock in the fight, I’m here to help you figure out who to cheer for. Just kidding, I’m helping you become an informed and ethical hater. I narrowed the matchup down to four key categories and then determined who comes into the game more hateable in each.

HATER HISTORY : BLUE BLOOD VS. NEW BLOOD

UConn – For those just joining our community and may have skipped WBB 101, the UConn program boasts an insane 11 NCAA championships and are absolutely one of the foundational pieces of women’s basketball history. But they’ve been in a drought since Breanna Stewart went pro in 2016 and while I wouldn’t say the rest of the world has caught up, because that ring count is insane, they just lost to Tennessee and that hasn’t happened since the second Bush administration. It’s getting kinda spooky for Geno and Co. as they come into this matchup the underdogs.

South Carolina – The new kids on the block are now on the cusp of owning said block. The first title came in 2017, a year after the end of UConn’s reign, and the chips are starting to come frequently. Right now the title count is at three, but if not for COVID and Caitlin Clark would be at five (fight me on this!) including a three-peat, which would put them in a different tier. But we’ll deal with the reality of now and note that the Gamecocks are arguably the most dominant team in women’s college basketball right now and continue to operate like a well-oiled machine.

Verdict: It’s a matter of if you are tired of a team that’s historically won a lot or a team that’s currently winning a lot. Ultimately I think fan’s investment in seeing Paige Bueckers bring the Huskies back to the mountaintop bumps USC into the villain role of this anime-esque saga.