South Carolina will be the No. 1 seed in the Southeastern Conference women’s basketball tournament after winning a coin flip on Sunday.

No. 1 Texas defeated Florida 72-46 on Sunday, so the Longhorns and Gamecocks both finished 15-1 in conference play. Because the teams split the season series, a coin flip Sunday determined that sixth-ranked South Carolina would have the No. 1 seed for this week’s SEC tournament in Greenville, South Carolina.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey flipped a coin from Birmingham, Alabama, during halftime of LSU’s game against Mississippi to determine the top seed. The flip was broadcast live on the SEC Network, and a loud cheer could be heard from the South Carolina locker room immediately afterward.

“We watched in the locker room and it was kind of exciting,” South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. “I know when you’re part of the equation it doesn’t feel good to have your fate in a coin flip. I didn’t know eight other sports use a coin flip. That was news to me. I feel better about it now.”

Texas players watched from their home floor after a blowout win over Florida.

“We can’t control the way the coin landed. It is what it is,” center Taylor Jones said. “Whatever team we play, we played before.”

This is the ninth time in the past 12 tournaments the Gamecocks have been the No. 1 seed.

South Carolina has the advantage of playing the early game on Friday at 9 a.m., which gives the team more rest before the semifinals than Texas, which tips off six hours later.

However, the Longhorns potentially have the easier path to the final.

Third-seeded LSU, which a potential foe for Texas in the semifinals if both teams win their first two games, will be without star Flau’jae Johnson for the tournament with a shin injury. Johnson is averaging a team-high 18.9 points per game.

Playing without Johnson on Sunday, the No. 7 Tigers blew a 15-point lead and were stunned by unranked Ole Miss, 85-77.

TCU claims Big 12 title >> Sedona Prince had 16 points and 19 rebounds as 10th-ranked TCU won its first Big 12 regular-season title, holding on to beat No. 17 Baylor 51-48 in the conference’s first winner-take-all on the final day in its 29-season history.

Hailey Van Lith added 14 points as the Horned Frogs (28-3, 16-2 Big 12), under second-year coach Mark Campbell, wrapped up their best regular season ever. They were a combined 7-47 in Big 12 games in the three seasons before the coach’s arrival.

Aaronette Vonleh had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Baylor (25-6, 15-3), the 13-time Big 12 champion that had its nine-game winning streak snapped with its lowest-scoring game this season. Yaya Fielder also had 17 points, but missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 6 seconds left.

Bueckers stars in final regular-season game >> Paige Bueckers had 19 points, seven assists and three steals in her final regular-season game to lead No. 5 UConn to a 92-57 win over Marquette.

UConn (28-3, 18-0 Big East) had already clinched the top seed for the Big East tournament. The Huskies wrapped up a perfect run through the Big East for the 11th time.

Bueckers’ No. 5 joined the likes of Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Rebecca Lobo, Sue Bird and Kerry Bascom in the Huskies of Honor, and teammates Azzi Fudd, Aubrey Griffin and Kaitlyn Chen were also honored after the game as part of the Senior Day festivities.

MLB

Ex-Mets GM joins Brewers >> Former New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler has joined the Milwaukee Brewers as a special adviser for scouting and baseball operations, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Eppler was suspended last year after an MLB investigation concluded he directed Mets staff to fabricate injuries to create open roster spots, but that punishment expired after the 2024 World Series.

He had resigned as the Mets’ general manager in October 2023 amid that investigation, three days after owner Steve Cohen hired David Stearns as president of baseball operations. Stearns held the president of baseball operations title with the Brewers before stepping down at the end of the 2022 season.

Motorsports

Dixon goes incommunicado >> Scott Dixon ran the entire IndyCar season-opening race without radio communication in a miscue that probably cost him his first career win on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg.

The six-time IndyCar champion finished second to winner Alex Palou in a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing on Sunday. Team owner Ganassi said if the radio had not malfunctioned, “he would have won — it was simple.”

Dixon instead was the runner-up at St. Pete for the fifth time in 21 starts on the street course. He has eight career podiums but has never reached the top spot.

“I’m pretty pissed off. We had a good race going and we didn’t get it done, so it doesn’t feel good, that’s for sure,” fumed the New Zealander.