“南卡罗来纳州赢得了一枚硬币，成为SEC锦标赛中的第一种子。德克萨斯州是第二个种子。”

“这有点令人兴奋，”南卡罗来纳州的传奇教练Dawn Staley承认。您会听到她声音中娱乐和难以置信的混合。

"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.

“这有点令人兴奋，”南卡罗来纳州的传奇教练Dawn Staley承认。您会听到她声音中娱乐和难以置信的混合。排名第6的Gamecocks（26-3，15-1 SEC）刚刚进入了SEC锦标赛中的头号种子。没有离合器的胜利。没有基于统计的决胜局。但是有一个很好的老式硬币翻转。

Yeah, you read that right.

是的，你读了正确的。

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的半场结束时，SEC专员Greg Sankey站起来，翻转硬币和Boom-Carolina是第一种子。从阿拉巴马州伯明翰进行的翻转是在SEC网络上现场直播的，捕捉了确定Gamecocks命运的纯粹随机性。

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."

反应是立即的，我们只是说不是每个人都很兴奋。整个事情感觉更像是后院游戏，而不是决定比赛种子的严肃方式。即使是Staley也不禁有不同的情绪。她说：“积累很好。” “但是当您是方程式的一部分时，感觉不好。”

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.

在格林维尔（Greenville）举行的2025 SEC锦标赛中，南卡罗来纳州的第一号种子是最近12场比赛的第九次。 Gamecocks还连续第四次获得常规赛冠军，过去六年中的第五个冠军。这是通过勇气而不是机会获得的成就。他们的最后一场胜利 - 在肯塔基州排名第14位的比赛中以78-66的艰难战斗 - 本赛季与排名第二的对手的第11场胜利。然而，当桑基将硬币扔到空中并让命运决定的那一刻，所有这些几乎都感到无关紧要。 “想象一下是否是足球，”斯特利也周五也表示怀疑。

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.

两支球队 - 南卡罗来纳州和德克萨斯州 - 在SEC比赛中以15-1击败了他们的头对手比赛。但是，会议不使用统计数据或有意义的决胜局，而是依靠纯粹的运气。但事实证明，这并不是女子篮球所独有的。斯塔利（Staley）承认，她惊讶地发现，在某些情况下，其他八项运动也将硬币翻转作为决胜局。她说：“这对我来说是新闻。” “我现在对此感觉好一些…………硬币上帝对此表示赞赏，”史塔利（Staley）开玩笑说。

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?"

但是与她不同，得克萨斯州教练维克·舍弗（Vic Sc​​haefer）并没有削弱他的话。他声称自己在翻转前练习了“两个小时”后，他直言不讳地质疑。 “那他在练习什么？ Schaefer问。 “我的意思是，你为什么要练习两个小时？你想完成什么？”

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.

得克萨斯州可能已经失去了硬币，但长角牛仍然处于疯狂三月的状态。 ESPN的最新预计NCAA锦标赛支架将南卡罗来纳州，德克萨斯州，加州大学洛杉矶分校和南加州大学作为四号种子。这两个SEC共同冠军都处于季后赛深度跑步的位置。

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，这并不能消除周日的挫败感和荒谬。粉丝和分析师希望SEC重新审视其决胜局规则，以避免重复这种情况。毕竟，没有一支球队希望全赛季的努力付出偶然的机会。

Fans Sound Off on SEC’s Coin Flip Decision

粉丝们在SEC的硬币翻转决定中发出了声音

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锦标赛应该是关于竞争的 - 最好的球队争夺头把交椅。但是今年，硬币翻转决定了一个关键的决胜局，人们不高兴。球迷，分析师甚至南卡罗来纳州的主教练Dawn Staley觉得这很荒谬。

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.

社交媒体爆炸了。一位粉丝张贴说：“只是毫不客气的TBH，总结了挫败感。高风险的种子决定归结为纯粹的运气的想法更像是一项拾音器游戏规则，而不是大型大学会议上的东西。

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.

另一个粉丝简单地说：“它应该归结为谁击败了谁。硬币翻转很愚蠢。但是，嘿，硬币不要撒谎，我想。”如果正面的结果还不够，那么至少差异应该很重要。相反，感觉就像SEC走了简单的出路。

Frustration didn’t stop there.

挫败感并没有止步于此。

“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.

“做到这一点的愚蠢方式。提出更好的东西。给球员有机会在球场上解决。 sec =🤡，”另一位粉丝写道。感觉很清楚 - 这不仅仅是公平。这是关于尊重游戏的。几个月的努力不应该归结为硬币。

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

并非每个人都认为这是一个可怕的主意。该运动的克里斯·范尼尼（Chris Vannini）指出，它增加了戏剧性，并且易于理解。 “这应该是每个会议的第二场决胜局