Regular season: Coming into the NCAA Tournament the Gamecocks lost five of their last seven games, including a quarterfinal defeat at the hands of Alabama in the SEC tournament.
Advertisement
Martin, the young head coach, took advantage of the opportunity of working in the same athletic department with the veteran Snyder.
Looking at the Final Four seedings and teams, it would appear the Gonzaga Bulldogs caught another break. If there’s a point (spread), it’s going to be half a point. South Carolina, North Carolina, Gonzaga and OR are all in good hands.
SC will advance to the Final Four to take on Stanford. On Sunday, Stanford won 76-75 over No. 1 seed Notre Dame, while Mississippi State achieved the same in beating No. 1 seed Baylor 94-85 in overtime.
On the day the Oakland Raiders move to Las Vegas was announced, Altman and Few said they would be in favor of NCAA Tournament first- and second-round games and regionals being played in Vegas. Gonzaga will play surprising SC, the seventh seed in the East Region, a team that was in and out of the AP Top 25 ranks all season and played second fiddle to Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference.
Before the tournament began, USC’s men’s team had only won three NCAA tournament games ever, and none since 1973.
SC is playing in its second Final Four after losing to Notre Dame in the national semifinals in 2015. You get the newcomers and, in North Carolina, the established power the newcomers will measure themselves against. OR will continue to be the underdogs at this point of the tournament, but that didn’t stop the team from dominating Kansas. The patrolman says, ‘It’s just surprising to see that vehicle on the road this time of night, just slow down a bit’.
“It keeps me upbeat and keeps my energy high”, she said about physical games.
How did they get here?
The Jayhawks were ranked all 10 times they went up against Kansas State from 1991-94 under Altman, who lost eight of those match-ups but had a memorable 68-64 win on January 17, 1994 at Allen Fieldhouse. Przemek Karnowski and Johnathan Williams will be the toughest big-man combo the Gamecocks have faced all season, and Mark Few has the luxury of bringing skilled 7-foot freshman Zach Collins off the bench. “But all the teams that are there have got some toughness to them”. At least the Wildcats can say they were beaten by the best. After years of having March Madness runs end in tears, Gonzaga is your 2017 national champion.
“It means a whole lot, especially with this group because no one thought we’d be here and we worked so hard this year”, said Collier, who earned most outstanding player of the region honors. They dominated that field in Maui.
“He’s big-time now”, junior Justin Jackson said. “I guarantee you Roy Williams is scared to death right now wondering about that kid”.
How many of us knew Martin before the tournament? Tell me what he can’t do? They just didn’t go in and hang on.
The Seminoles will look to avoid a slow start on Monday as they had against the Beavers.
Advertisement
OR and North Carolina were the two best teams involved in that tournament, and the Tar Heels took care of business to win, the Ducks did not.
