No. 9 UConn vs. No. 1 South Carolina Canceled as Gamecocks Reschedule SEC Games

One of the most highly anticipated nonconference games of the women's college basketball season will not happen.

Mechelle Voepel of ESPN reported Thursday's game between No. 1 South Carolina and No. 9 UConn was canceled because the Gamecocks are looking to make up SEC games that were previously postponed because of COVID-19 concerns.

As a result, South Carolina will play Ole Miss on Thursday, and the Huskies will face DePaul in a Big East game on Wednesday.

"Dawn Staley reached out to me about postponing the series for this season," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "It's a priority for South Carolina to make up SEC games, so this is the best decision for them right now. We know a lot of fans were excited for this game, but we look forward to continuing the series with South Carolina in future seasons."

Staley, who is South Carolina's head coach, echoed those sentiments:

"I know our fans always enjoy the UConn game, and our team enjoys the rivalry. But I have always said that our conference season, and especially our goal of another SEC championship, is more central to our program."

"As we approach the second half of league play next month, it has become more important to complete our SEC schedule to keep ourselves in the running for a conference title. This Thursday is one of the few dates Ole Miss has open, so, with my team's best interest at heart, I started the conversations that led us to this point."

Perhaps there would have been more urgency to play Thursday's game as scheduled if the two powerhouses didn't already play this season.

The Gamecocks defeated UConn by 16 points in the championship game of the Battle 4 Atlantis in November. The two programs are also scheduled to face each other in each of the next two seasons.

While UConn is widely considered the gold standard of women's college basketball, this season has been something of a roller coaster.

Star player Paige Bueckers has not played since a Dec. 5 victory over Notre Dame with a knee injury, and the team is just 6-3 since with losses to Georgia Tech, Louisville and Oregon.

As for 17-1 South Carolina, its only loss came to Missouri by one point in overtime.

The Gamecocks are 5-1 in SEC play but are chasing 7-0 Tennessee. UConn is the only undefeated team in the Big East at 6-0 in conference play, but the upcoming game against DePaul will be key since the Blue Demons are 8-1.