Hamilton: Home humbling by UConn could lead to a better South Carolina

COLUMBIA So thats how the other side lives.

UConns 87-58 beatdown of fourth-ranked South Carolina was methodical, relentless and borderline cruel considering what it did to the sold-out crowd packed into Colonial Life Arena.

They received a healthy dose of humility and a glimpse of life outside of Columbia after dishing out around $250 for the cheapest seat in the building.

It was the kind of home invasion weve seen USC (23-3) pull off in arenas throughout the South and across the country for the better part of the past 15 years.

Each double-digit walloping the Gamecocks delivered in other gyms was like a visitor not using a coaster before grinding mud into the carpet on their way out.

Scores of USC fans now have self-awareness and can sympathize with counterparts elsewhere, ones who welcomed the Gamecocks only to have their hospitality scorned.

UConn (24-3) seemed to do what it wanted, when it wanted and how it wanted to do it, especially after Ashlynn Shades 3-pointer with 2:55 left in the first quarter.

That put UConn up 14-11 and kick-started a 17-3 run that basically slammed the door on USC.

From that point with 2:55 still remaining in the first quarter you didnt need a scoreboard to indicate who was ahead and likely to win.

Body language from both sides read as if spelled out by the most robust LED lights.

And talk about shell-shocked.

USC and its fans have known only victory for more than four years in that building, a streak of 71 games (the fourth-longest in Division I history).

But even that last bite of defeat didnt go down like this.

The Gamecocks lost to then-No.

8 N.C.

State 54-46 on Dec.

3, 2020.

A single-digit loss to a ranked opponent hit differently then considering the shape of the world after nine months of sheltering in place.

Everyone was just grateful for basketball.

Besides, its one thing to lose an early season non-conference game by eight points.

Its another to be pushed around in mid-February.

Still, as rare and seemingly unprecedented as Sundays disaster feels, this could be a new thing going forward.

Not getting bullied the way USC got bullied Dawn Staley wont allow that.

Or at least wont allow it to happen very often.

But this is a different time in basketball and college athletics in general.

No program in any sport will ever again assemble something that can be considered a dynasty.

Dominant stretches, perhaps, though nothing to resemble what UConn and Tennessee demonstrated in womens basketball for nearly 40 years .

The advent of the transfer portal and NIL payments wont allow it.

Athlete freedom and booster empowerment have closed the gap between elite programs and the rest.

Plus, the talent pool is simply so much deeper for every sport, though especially women's basketball.

Thank you, Caitlin Clark and a cast of thousands.

Teams at the top have leveled off, while the pack has elevated itself.

Parity is more real now than at any point since Sewanee was in the SEC.

That means the difference is thin between, say, a seventh-ranked UConn that was considered at best a fringe Final Four contender to one that can run roughshod over a championship favorite.

And on the road, no less.

There are still the teams that are always near the top, not quite as bad as football yet, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said.

But there are a lot more really, really good teams than there have been in a long time.

Super teams, great teams? Maybe not as many as those.

But certainly a lot of really good teams that would make for a truly interesting NCAA Tournament.

No doubt.

We didnt know if UConn was a championship contender it answered that question with an exclamation point.

Auriemma, apparently, hasnt forgotten how to coach and stockpile talent.

And, to his point, the tournament will be far more interesting with a Hall of Fame coach chasing a 12th national championship.

As for USC, it has to reset, reboot and regroup theres not much else it can do.

The Gamecocks were exposed as a team that cant skate along because, as LSU coach Kim Mulkey pointed out last month , it has 10 McDonalds All-Americans on a roster.

Defense and rebounding and effort those things that cant be coached should be easier to regularly extract now.

We could find out soon.

A quick rebound could happen Thursday when Arkansas (9-18, 2-10 SEC) rolls into town.

Will it be like after the last time the Gamecocks lost at home, a 103-41 thrashing of Temple two weeks after losing to the Wolfpack? Repeating that would be a heckuva response.

It would go a long way toward getting things back on track and in Staley's good graces.

Remember: USC lost four games and won the title in 2017.

This doesnt change anything going forward with regard to the ultimate goal.

Well, it doesnt change anything other than the Gamecocks working harder to defend their pride.

It was just embarrassing today, USC guard Te-Hina Paopao said.

Defense was trash today.

Staley might be externally embarrassed, though also a bit giddy inside.

Her job, as crazy as it sounds, just got easier..

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