By james art 
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team open the season against the Michigan Wolverines in Las Vegas on Monday. Here’s how you can watch, stream and listen to the game, plus betting odds and predictions.
WHO: #1 South Carolina (0-0) vs. Michigan (0-0)
When: Monday, November 4, 2024, 7:30 PM ET
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
TV/Streaming: TNT will televise the match. The cast is Spero Dedes, Grant Hill, Candace Parker and Taylor Rooks. You can stream the game on WatchTNT.com or the TNT app (with appropriate subscription).
Local radio/streaming in Colombia: The game will be at 1320 AM with Brad Mueller calling the game. You can stream South Carolina radio here.
Most South Carolina women’s basketball games will be broadcast on 107.5 The Game in Columbia, but Monday there is a conflict with the South Carolina men’s basketball team playing at the same time.
Local radio/streaming in Ann Arbor: The game will be at 1050am with Matt Park calling the game. You can stream Michigan Radio here.
National Radio: The game will be on Sirius XM 191.
Gambling Information (as of Monday at 10am ET)
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, South Carolina is favored by 21 points, while the over/under is 134 points. (Early Sunday night, South Carolina was favored by 17.5, but the line quickly moved to 21.)
Also, according to DraftKings, South Carolina is a +180 moneyline favorite to win the NCAA Women’s Tournament, while BetMGM has South Carolina at +160.
GamecockCentral staff predictions
Chris Clark: South Carolina wins 82-63
Wes Mitchell: South Carolina wins 83-60
Brian Shoemaker: South Carolina wins 89-59
Jack Veltri: South Carolina wins 85-64
The following information was provided by the University of South Carolina Department of Athletic Communications and Public Affairs.
Gamecock Famous Faces
South Carolina head coach Don Staley enters his 25th season as a head coach and his 17th season leading the Gamecocks. She led South Carolina to seven 30-win seasons since 2015-16, including the last three seasons capped by 2023-24 going undefeated until the National Championship. The Gamecocks are 109-3 over the past three seasons.
Staley and Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico are facing each other for the first time as head coaches, but they are connected through USA Basketball. Barnes Arico was an assistant on Staley’s team that led the USA to gold medals in the 2014 FIBA U18 AmeriCup and 2015 FIBA U19 World Cup.
The Gamecocks’ 2024-25 schedule features 12 games against teams ranked in the preseason national polls. Five of those games are non-conference against teams in the top 11.
South Carolina’s undefeated season was built on his unpredictability. With so many ways to win games, the Gamecocks kept opponents off balance. Seven players averaged at least 8.0 points; four averaged at least 5.0 rebounds, four averaged at least 2.0 assists per game and all but every player on the season-ending roster shot at least 43.0 percent from the field.
Returning nine of the 11 players from last season’s team, the Gamecocks return 83.9 percent of their goals from last season, 78.0 percent of their rebounds, 89.0 percent of their assists, 72.1 percent of their blocked shots and 98.4 percent of his 3-pointers.
Senior Te-Hina Paopao is back for her fifth college season, looking to build on her 2023-24 campaign, which included leading the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (.468).
Junior Raven Johnson is among the top point guards in the nation, ranking second in the nation last season with a 3.09 assists-for-loss ratio, which included 4.8 assists per game.
Three Gamecocks were named to the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List – MiLaysia Fulwiley, Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao.
Sophomore guard Mylaizia Fulluili is the Gamecocks’ top returning scorer after averaging 11.7 points last season.
This season, the team added the No. 2 (ESPN) recruit with three top-30 signees – No. 3 Joyce Edwards, No. 12 Maddie McDaniel, No. 26 Adhel Tack – as well as Arkansas transfer Mariam Dauda.
SEC coaches and media have picked the Gamecocks to repeat as league champions this season. This marks the fourth time in the last five years that South Carolina has been projected to claim the SEC title.
With the numbers
3 – The Gamecocks have won three national championships in the last seven NCAA Tournaments.
4 – South Carolina enters this season ranked No. 1 in both polls for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
7 – Seven Gamecocks were on the watch lists for the Naismith Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Starting 5.
The Michigan Series
The Gamecocks and Wolverines played three times before tonight, with South Carolina winning all three games by an average of 15.7 points. The last meeting was in December 1995.
Season opener
South Carolina is 14-2 to start the season under head coach Dawn Staley, with the two losses coming in her first three seasons at the helm. Five of those 16 season openers were against ranked opponents.
The Gamecocks open the season with a neutral game for the second year in a row. College basketball’s historic debut last season in Paris saw #6/4 South Carolina top #10/10 Notre Dame 100-71 on November 6th.
Exhibition action
For the first time in program history, South Carolina played two exhibition games this season, defeating Memphis 106-63 (Oct. 15) and Clayton State 126-42 (Oct. 28). The Gamecocks shot over 50.0 percent from the field in both instances.
Freshman Joyce Edwards recorded double-doubles in each, averaging 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds to lead the team in both categories.
First watch
Seven Gamecocks were named to preseason watch lists for the Naismith Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame starting five, including three who were also named to the Jersey Mike Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List presented by Axia Time.
Raven Johnson and Te-Hina Paopao were on the lists for both the Naismith Trophy and the Nancy Lieberman Award, which honors the nation’s top point guard. MiLaysia Fulwiley joined them on the Naismith Trophy list while also appearing on the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award list for the nation’s top defenders.
Bree Hall joined Fulwiley on the preseason Ann Meyers Draysdale Award list. Maryam Dauda was among the 20 for the Cheryl Miller Award (small forward) and Sania Feagin earned a spot on the Katrina McClain Award (power forward). Sakima Walker rounded out the positional honors with a spot on the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List (center), continuing a long streak of Gamecocks on that award’s watch lists.