Dawn Staley Wasn't Happy About Coin Flip Tiebreaker Until South Carolina Won Coin Flip Tiebreaker
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks will have the No. 1 seed in the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament — all thanks to a coin toss.
Both South Carolina and Texas finished their respective regular-season conference schedules with identical 15-1 records and each won a game against each other. So with win percentage and head-to-head results equal, tournament seeding came down to a coin-flip tiebreaker.
Faced with this possibility last week, the South Carolina head coach expressed concerns that a coin flip wasn't the best or the fairest way to determine seeding.
"I think we should’ve thought ahead a little more… That’s just me though. I would say imagine if it was football, and it’s a coin flip, not for who gets the ball first, but who gets the first seeding in the national championship," Staley said.
"Now, I’m not trying to throw the commissioner under the bus by any means. It has been a part of the tiebreakers since as long as I’ve been in the SEC, and that’s what it is. It’s unfortunate it’s coming down to that."
After the Gamecocks won the toss, though, Staley seemed much happier with the process.
"Coin Gods were in our favor! South Carolina, number one seed, we've got to make it count," the Hall of Famer said in a video posted on X. "See y'all in Greenville!"
Staley also spoke about the coin toss during her post-game press conference after Sunday's 78-66 win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
"We just watched it in the locker room, and I mean it was kind of exciting," Staley said. "It was, it was kind of exciting. And the build-up was good. I know when you're part of the equation, it doesn't feel good to have your fate in a coin toss.
"And I didn't know that eight other sports use a coin flip... That was news to me. I feel a little better about it now."
The SEC Women's Tournament tips off on Wednesday. As the No. 1 seed, South Carolina will have an opportunity to rest until the quarterfinal round on Friday.