The USC women’s basketball team is currently getting set for an NCAA Tournament run in 2025. That isn’t stopping Lindsay Gottlieb from lining up future schedules. The Trojans are already crafting a marquee schedule for next season.
On Monday, USC announced a home-and-home series with South Carolina—a.k.a. fake USC. The Trojans will host the Gamecocks this fall, before making the trip to the Palmetto State in November of 2026.
The addition of South Carolina adds to a loaded nonconference slate for USC next season. The Women of Troy already had games lined up against UConn at home and Notre Dame on the road, both rematches from this season. The Trojans fell to the Fighting Irish at Galen Center in November, but defeated the Huskies on the road in December.
The game in Los Angeles will actually not be played at Galen Center, but at Crypto.com Arena in LA Live. However, the scheduling is rather unfortunate for USC fans, as it will be played on November 15—the same day as the Trojans’ homecoming football game vs. Iowa.
This will mark the second consecutive season that a massive USC women’s basketball matchup will go head-to-head with a huge day of college football. This season, it actually happened three times: USC played Notre Dame the same day as the Crosstown Showdown at the Rose Bowl, UConn directly opposite the College Football Playoff first round, and Nebraska the afternoon of the CFP quarterfinals.
From a television ratings perspective, having a football lead-in to the basketball game is a great thing. For fans, however, this can create a tough situation, as many are forced between attending/watching one sport or the other.
While the scheduling is unfortunate, however, it will still be exciting regardless to have two of the top women’s basketball programs in the country square off on the court.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women’s basketball to play Dawn Staley’s South Carolina Gamecocks
