“南卡羅來納州贏得了一枚硬幣，成為SEC錦標賽中的第一種子。德克薩斯州是第二個種子。”

“這有點令人興奮，”南卡羅來納州的傳奇教練Dawn Staley承認。您會聽到她聲音中娛樂和難以置信的混合。

"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.

“這有點令人興奮，”南卡羅來納州的傳奇教練Dawn Staley承認。您會聽到她聲音中娛樂和難以置信的混合。排名第6的Gamecocks（26-3，15-1 SEC）剛剛進入了SEC錦標賽中的頭號种子。沒有離合器的勝利。沒有基於統計的決勝局。但是有一個很好的老式硬幣翻轉。

Yeah, you read that right.

是的，你讀了正確的。

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.

在LSU-Ole Miss Game的半場結束時，SEC專員Greg Sankey站起來，翻轉硬幣和Boom-Carolina是第一種子。從阿拉巴馬州伯明翰進行的翻轉是在SEC網絡上現場直播的，捕捉了確定Gamecocks命運的純粹隨機性。

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 decide 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."

反應是立即的，我們只是說不是每個人都很興奮。整個事情感覺更像是後院遊戲，而不是決定比賽種子的嚴肅方式。即使是Staley也不禁有不同的情緒。她說：“積累很好。” “但是當您是方程式的一部分時，感覺不好。”

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.

在格林維爾（Greenville）舉行的2025 SEC錦標賽中，南卡羅來納州的第一號种子是最近12場比賽的第九次。 Gamecocks還連續第四次獲得常規賽冠軍，過去六年中的第五個冠軍。這是通過勇氣而不是機會獲得的成就。他們的最後一場胜利 - 在肯塔基州排名第14位的比賽中以78-66的艱難戰鬥 - 本賽季與排名第二的對手的第11場胜利。然而，當桑基將硬幣扔到空中並讓命運決定的那一刻，所有這些幾乎都感到無關緊要。 “想像一下是否是足球，”斯特利也週五也表示懷疑。

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.

兩支球隊 - 南卡羅來納州和德克薩斯州 - 在SEC比賽中以15-1擊敗了他們的頭對手比賽。但是，會議不使用統計數據或有意義的決勝局，而是依靠純粹的運氣。但事實證明，這並不是女子籃球所獨有的。斯塔利（Staley）承認，她驚訝地發現，在某些情況下，其他八項運動也將硬幣翻轉作為決勝局。她說：“這對我來說是新聞。” “我現在對此感覺好一些…………硬幣上帝對此表示讚賞，”史塔利（Staley）開玩笑說。

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?"

但是與她不同，得克薩斯州教練維克·舍弗（Vic Sc​​haefer）並沒有削弱他的話。他聲稱自己在翻轉前練習了“兩個小時”後，他直言不諱地質疑。 “那他在練習什麼？ Schaefer問。 “我的意思是，你為什麼要練習兩個小時？你想完成什麼？”

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.

得克薩斯州可能已經失去了硬幣，但長角牛仍然處於瘋狂三月的狀態。 ESPN的最新預計NCAA錦標賽支架將南卡羅來納州，德克薩斯州，加州大學洛杉磯分校和南加州大學作為四號种子。這兩個SEC共同冠軍都處於季后賽深度跑步的位置。

However, that doesn’t erase the frustration and absurdity from Sunday. Fans and analysts 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.

但是，這並不能消除週日的挫敗感和荒謬。粉絲和分析師希望SEC重新審視其決勝局規則，以避免重複這種情況。畢竟，沒有一支球隊希望全賽季的努力付出偶然的機會。

Fans Sound Off on SEC’s Coin Flip Decision

粉絲們在SEC的硬幣翻轉決定中發出了聲音

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.

SEC錦標賽應該是關於競爭的 - 最好的球隊爭奪頭把交椅。但是今年，硬幣翻轉決定了一個關鍵的決勝局，人們不高興。球迷，分析師甚至南卡羅來納州的主教練Dawn Staley覺得這很荒謬。

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.

社交媒體爆炸了。一位粉絲張貼說：“只是毫不客氣的TBH，總結了挫敗感。高風險的種子決定歸結為純粹的運氣的想法更像是一項拾音器遊戲規則，而不是大型大學會議上的東西。

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.

另一個粉絲簡單地說：“它應該歸結為誰擊敗了誰。硬幣翻轉很愚蠢。但是，嘿，硬幣不要撒謊，我想。”如果正面的結果還不夠，那麼至少差異應該很重要。相反，感覺就像SEC走了簡單的出路。

Frustration didn’t stop there.

挫敗感並沒有止步於此。

“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.

“做到這一點的愚蠢方式。提出更好的東西。給球員有機會在球場上解決。 sec =🤡，”另一位粉絲寫道。感覺很清楚 - 這不僅僅是公平。這是關於尊重遊戲的。幾個月的努力不應該歸結為硬幣。

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

並非每個人都認為這是一個可怕的主意。該運動的克里斯·范尼尼（Chris Vannini）指出，它增加了戲劇性，並且易於理解。 “這應該是每個會議的第二場決勝局