“It was kind of exciting,” South Carolina’s legendary coach, Dawn Staley, admitted. You could hear the mix of amusement and disbelief in her voice. The No. 6 Gamecocks (26-3, 15-1 SEC) had just landed the top seed in the SEC Tournament. Not with a clutch win. Not with a stat-based tiebreaker. But with a good old-fashioned coin flip.

Yeah, you read that right.

During halftime of the LSU-Ole Miss game, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey stepped up, flipped a coin, and boom—South Carolina was the No. 1 seed. The flip, conducted from Birmingham, Alabama, was broadcast live on the SEC Network, capturing the moment of sheer randomness that determined the Gamecocks’ fate. Talia Goodman shared in a tweet: “South Carolina wins the coin toss and will be the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. Texas will be the No. 2 seed.”

The reaction was instant, and let’s just say not everyone was thrilled. The whole thing felt more like a backyard game than a serious way to determine a tournament seed. Even Staley could not help but have mixed emotions. “The build-up was good,” she said. “But when you’re part of the equation, it doesn’t feel good.”

South Carolina’s No. 1 seed in the 2025 SEC Tournament in Greenville was its ninth time in the last 12 tournaments. The Gamecocks also secured their fourth consecutive regular-season conference title and their fifth in the past six years. It was an accomplishment earned through grit, not chance. Their final win—a tough 78-66 battle over No. 14 Kentucky—was their 11th win against a ranked opponent this season. Yet all of that almost felt irrelevant the moment Sankey tossed that coin into the air and let fate decide. “Imagine if it was football,” Staley had said on Friday, too, doubting the ways.

Both teams—South Carolina and Texas—finished 15-1 in SEC play, splitting their head-to-head matchups. But instead of using stats or a meaningful tiebreaker, the conference relied on pure luck. But it turns out this isn’t unique to women’s basketball. Staley admitted she was surprised to learn that eight other sports also use a coin flip as a tiebreaker in certain situations. “That was news to me,” she said. “I feel a little better about it now…..Coin God were in favor,” Staley joked post the flip.

But unlike her, Texas coach, Vic Schaefer, did not mince his words. He bluntly questioned Sankey after he claimed he practiced for “two hours” before the flip. “So what was he practicing? Was he practicing for South Carolina to be heads up or Texas to be heads up?” Schaefer asked. “I mean, why do you have to practice for two hours? What are you trying to get accomplished?”

Texas may have lost the coin toss, but the Longhorns are still in great shape for March Madness. ESPN’s latest projected NCAA tournament bracket has South Carolina, Texas, UCLA, and USC as the four No. 1 seeds. Both SEC co-champions are in a position for deep postseason runs.

However, that doesn’t erase the frustration and absurdity from Sunday. Fans and analysts alike hope the SEC revisits its tiebreaker rules to avoid a repeat of this situation. After all, no team wants a full season’s worth of effort left to chance.

Fans Sound Off on SEC’s Coin Flip Decision

The SEC tournament is supposed to be about competition—the best teams fighting for the top spot. But this year, a coin flip decided a key tiebreaker, and people weren’t happy. Fans, analysts, and even South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley felt it was ridiculous.

Social media blew up. “Just unserious tbh,” one fan posted, summing up the frustration. The idea that a high-stakes seeding decision came down to pure luck felt more like a pickup game rule than something from a major college conference.

Another fan put it simply: “It should have just come down to who beat who by more. Coin flip was stupid. But hey, the coin don’t lie, I guess.” If head-to-head results weren’t enough, at least the point differential should have mattered. Instead, it felt like the SEC took the easy way out.

Frustration didn’t stop there.“Dumb way to do it. Come up with something better. Give the players a chance to settle it on the court. SEC = 🤡,” another fan wrote. The feeling was clear—this wasn’t just about fairness; it was about respecting the game. Months of effort shouldn’t come down to a coin toss.

Not everyone thought it was a terrible idea. Chris Vannini of The Athletic pointed out that it adds drama and is easy to understand. “This should be every conference’s No. 2 tiebreaker after head-to-head for every sport. It’s made-for-TV drama and it’s easy to understand.” But others, like Jeff Goodman, weren’t buying it. “A coin flip? C’mon,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Some fans, despite their frustration, looked ahead. “Obviously not how anybody wants it decided. Hopefully, they’ll change it to prevent this from happening again.” The SEC has a chance to fix this before it happens again. If they don’t, fans won’t let it go. The players deserve better, and the pressure is on the conference to step up.