South Carolina’s 2026-27 schedule will waste little time testing the Gamecocks.
On Dec. 3, Dawn Staley’s team will travel to Cameron Indoor Stadium to face Duke in one of the biggest non-conference matchups of the season.
The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN as part of the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Both programs enter the season with major expectations.
South Carolina is ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s way-too-early Top 25, while Duke enters at No. 3.
Duke is coming off a 27-9 season in which the Blue Devils won both the ACC regular-season and tournament championships before reaching the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.
What makes this matchup particularly interesting is how much experience Duke brings back.
The Blue Devils return three starters and nine players from last season’s team.
Toby Fournier will be one of the biggest problems South Carolina has to solve.
The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 17.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game last season while also averaging 2.2 blocks.
She earned first-team All-ACC honors and was named a third-team All-American.
Fournier also had a strong performance against South Carolina in last season’s Elite Eight, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Delaney Thomas gives Duke another physical presence in the frontcourt.
The 6-foot-3 forward averaged 11 points and 6.3 rebounds last season while shooting 60.5 percent from the field.
South Carolina, however, will have plenty of firepower of its own.
Joyce Edwards returns after a spectacular sophomore season in which she averaged 19.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and set South Carolina’s single-season scoring record.
Tessa Johnson is also back after shooting 45.2 percent from three-point range last season.
The biggest question surrounding the Gamecocks may be how quickly their new-look backcourt comes together.
South Carolina lost Raven Johnson and Ta’Niya Latson, but Staley has added new options, including Jordan Lee and Brooke Quarles-Daniels.
That makes the Duke game an early measuring stick for the new roster.
The history between these programs adds another layer.
South Carolina leads the all-time series 10-2, although Duke’s last victory over the Gamecocks came in 2016.
This will be the 13th meeting between the programs and the fourth consecutive season they have faced each other.
But this time, Duke gets something South Carolina will not have — home-court advantage at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Blue Devils will also enter the game having already faced another major test against UConn on Nov. 28.
For South Carolina, Dec. 3 represents more than another non-conference game.
It is a chance to see how a retooled roster responds when the pressure, the opponent and the environment all get significantly tougher.
Duke has the experience.
Duke has the home court.
South Carolina has the talent and the No. 1 ranking.
On Dec. 3, something will have to give.
Can the Blue Devils use Cameron Indoor to spoil South Carolina’s road trip?
Or will the Gamecocks walk into Durham and leave with another statement win?
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