SC prediction and game preview, as the No. 4 Gators and No. 7 Gamecocks face off in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
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SC has been under the radar all season, though the Gamecocks have had a stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking in defensive efficiency for a while. USC has refused to bow to the pressure of the moment over the past two weeks; will that change now that the Final Four is a very real possibility?
“We definitely made a statement that the Gators are no joke and they’re definitely coming back and they’re building their program back to where it used to be”, forward Devin Robinson said. It’s on the refs to give us a foul at the rim when we get there, or they say it’s not a foul.
Yet the Gamecocks will be facing another Final Four virgin (No. 1 seed Gonzaga).
The Gamecocks (25-10) were in control from the middle of the first half on, mixing defenses and hustling all over the Madison Square Garden court to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time. It was also just Florida’s 11th loss under White when scoring 70 points or more. Here are Martin’s SC players completely drenching him with water and what not in celebration in their locker room post-game. There was PJ Dozier, a player so smooth he seems to nearly surf the floor, with 17 points, and the brawny Kotsar with 12 and rangy Chris Silva with 13.
The Tar Heels (31-7) overcame an ankle issue from junior point guard Joel Berry as North Carolina was led by Justin Jackson’s 19 points. They scuffled through the end of their season, losing six out of nine games, including their SEC tournament opener against Alabama. They needed 65 possessions to get those 60 against OR, which put a wall around the basket in the form of Jordan Bell (11 points, 13 rebounds, eight blocks).
“They made all the plays they needed to, and Thornwell showed why he’s starting to become more appreciated”, White said.
“That’s what they game-planned for”.
“It was a great matchup”, Thomas said about the 2015 game. “All of sudden we look a lot smarter when that happens than we really are”. UF led by as many as eight and ended the half on an 8-3 stretch to take a 40-33 lead into the break despite USC scoring 22 of its 33 points in the paint. The largest lead was 63-41. Example: the Gamecocks trailed 55-53 with 6:55 to go, when Thornwell reeled off eight straight points.
The Gamecocks took their first lead of the second half with 11:28 remaining. The Bears went 0 for 10 from the field and committed four turnovers in the run. And if Florida can get Allen and Barry to score in double figures in the same game for the first time since its trip to Vanderbilt, that might be more than enough to make whatever the Gators can do against Sindarius Thornwell and the Gamecocks offense stand up. It was 37-22 at halftime. People call it March Madness for a reason.
“It’s attractive to us. I’m the luckiest person in the world”.
Florida will face SEC-foe SC in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
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Gonzaga has not only played the best defense in this tournament, the Zags have the best defense in school history and the best in America this season.
