South Carolina women's basketball vs Maryland: Elite Eight scouting report, score prediction

South Carolina women's basketball is one win away from making its third consecutive Final Four appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 1 Gamecocks (35-0) take on 2-seed Maryland (28-6) at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville on Monday (7 p.m., ESPN). A South Carolina victory would set a school record for most wins in a season and would send the Gamecocks to the fifth Final Four in program history.

The Gamecocks have already beaten Maryland this season en route to completing the program's first undefeated regular season. If they go all the way to the national title, South Carolina will be just the fifth program in NCAA history to finish with a perfect record.

Here's everything you need to know about the Elite Eight matchup:

SWEET 16 VICTORY:South Carolina women's basketball makes statement with 59-43 win over UCLA in Sweet 16

BREA BEAL:Brea Beal develops into a top WNBA prospect as South Carolina career winds down in March Madness

DAWN STALEY:How Cori Close said South Carolina's Dawn Staley showed 'class' after UCLA injury in Sweet 16

How Maryland fared in first meeting

South Carolina dominated its Nov. 11 meeting with Maryland, particularly in the second half. After being outscored in the second quarter, the Gamecocks put up 30 points in the third to win 81-56 at College Park. Despite mediocre field-goal shooting, Zia Cooke led the team with 18 points behind four 3-pointers, and Aliyah Boston had a huge double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The biggest factor against the Terrapins was the absence of star senior Diamond Miller, who was recovering from a knee injury. Miller averages 19.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals per game. She is the second most-accurate shooter on the team, hitting 47.3% from the field. Miller was a unanimous second-team All-American in 2023.

Terps rely on high-volume offense

Much like Caitlin Clark's Iowa team, Maryland thrives when it can simply outscore an opponent. The Terrapins boast a top-10 scoring offense and surpassed 90 points in five Big Ten games, including a 107-point performance against Minnesota on Dec. 30. Three players average double digits points per game: Miller with 19.6, senior Abby Meyers with 14.3 and sophomore Shyanne Sellers with 14.

In every loss this season except its two to Iowa, the Maryland offense has scored fewer than 70 points, which makes sense because the Hawkeyes are one of the weakest defensive teams in the country. The opposite is true of South Carolina: the Gamecocks are the No. 1 scoring defense in the country and became just the seventh team in tournament history to hold each of its first three opponents under 50 points.

Gamecocks thrive in rematches

South Carolina made a statement in its Sweet 16 win over UCLA. It held the Bruins to 43 points and won by 16 after beating them by just nine and trailing at halftime when the teams first met in November. The Gamecocks have played eight opponents multiple times and have won by a wider margin or by at least 20 points in every rematch.

Maryland is in the unique position of holding a weapon South Carolina hasn't faced with Miller, but the Terps' regular-season rematches were a mixed bag. They avenged a December blowout loss to Nebraska with a 15-point win in January and dominated their second meeting with Iowa after a 14-point loss in the first. However, Maryland then lost to the Hawkeyes again in the Big Ten tournament, and they scored just 66 points on Michigan State in February after putting up 94 in their January meeting.

Prediction

South Carolina 75, Maryland 64: The Gamecocks are greatly improved from their first meeting with the Terps, but Maryland is a completely different team and keeps it close early. Miller gets out to a hot start, but South Carolina adjusts quickly and never trails after the first quarter.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball vs Maryland: Elite Eight prediction