The result was a 70-50 win that was never really in doubt.
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That, however, is less a byproduct of Baylor’s woeful offense than it is of the SC defense. That is a big reason why the Gamecocks are in this position, holding Duke to 41.5 percent shooting from the field and limiting Baylor to just 50 points.
“Every game you build more and more confidence after every win”, Manz said. Within our conference, we know the potential and I think that our conference has, is full of good coaches, tremendous talent, a lot of young talent, recruiting classes continue to get stronger and stronger and we have three (Kentucky, South Carolina and Florida) in the Elite 8.
Joel Berry II scored 26 points and Justin Jackson added 24 as the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels moved to the Elite Eight by knocking off the No. 4 Butler Bulldogs in the South Regional semifinals in Memphis. Thornwell did a little bit of everything once again for the Gamecocks. The Wildcats were magnificent on both ends, and are heading to the Elite Eight.
Isaiah Hicks came up big late, too, with a dunk and four free throws in the final 2 minutes to help UNC survive.
On defense, Thornwell found himself all over the place.
Guard Manu Lecomte, who is from Belgium, will be another key to this game. His answer revealed not only his team’s mindset in that game but also the larger truth of just how exactly that same SC team is now in the Elite Eight.
“The defense was extremely tough”, Motley said. The NCAA hit the program with massive sanctions, reducing them to seven scholarships for two years and, in 2005-06, banning the program from playing non-conference games.
A couple more great games in conjunction with his near-unicorn-ness will make his potential stardom more feasible. “We couldn’t, really couldn’t buy a basket”.
Redshirt-sophomore forward Jen Fay, who leads the Bobcats in points per game with 10.4, has confidence in a Bobcat victory on Saturday. Malik Monk blocked a shot and made a pair of free throws in the final 13 seconds.
What will it take for SC to beat Florida State and advance to the Final Four in Dallas?
But Baylor is shooting just 29 percent from the floor and is losing the rebounding battle, two areas the Bears typically excel at. Three other starters also scored in double digits, headlined by big man Chris Silva (12 points, seven rebounds).
The 20-point loss was the most lopsided in Drew’s 17 NCAA tournament games and only the second double-digit loss this season. The Bears average 10 more rebounds per game than their opponent.
“We’re excited to be in Stockton”, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. In the first game, a 57-53 loss at SC on January 18, Allen managed just one point as he was 0-for-3 from the field.
Baylor hung around as long as it could, cutting the deficit to 11 at 49-38 halfway through the second.
Sometimes that meant it got messy – deflections led to loose balls, which led to at least one SC player on the floor to pick up the pieces.
Baylor didn’t score for 7:37 as the Gamecocks’ offense found its rhythm. “Sometimes it’s hard to get in a rhythm or hard to get in a flow”.
Of the country’s top-20 scorers, Thornwell is the only one in the tournament, and his level of play has improved tremendously. His goal, instead, is to get the entire team to buy into the same philosophy – one that he knows works and one that he has built his team around.
– Over the course of the last two seasons, Carolina is 8-3 in neutral site games.
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These two unexpected party crashers will duke it out Sunday at Madison Square Garden for a spot in the Final Four, but no introductions are necessary between the Gamecocks and the Gators, two SEC teams that know each other nearly as well as they know themselves.
