The No. 7 South Carolina men's basketball team will travel to Madison Square Garden to take on the three-seeded Baylor Bears in the Sweet 16 Friday.
The Gamecocks are coming off one of their biggest wins in program history: An upset win over the powerhouse Duke Blue Devils. Baylor just edged out Southern California to advance.
Both teams came into the tournament struggling in the win column. South Carolina was 2-5 in its last seven entering the tournament, while Baylor was 3-4 over the same span. It has been somewhat of a surprise as to how well both teams have played to advance to the Sweet 16.
Baylor Bears
Key wins: Oregon, Louisville, Xavier, West Virginia
Season Breakdown
The Bears reached the No. 1 ranking in the country after starting a perfect 15-0. They cooled down after that, finishing the season 12-6, good for second in the Big 12 in the regular season.
Why Baylor is a threat to South Carolina
Baylor boasts the tournament’s best interior offense. The Bears rank 63rd in the country in rebounds per game and could cause trouble for South Carolina on the offensive glass. Baylor could have a lot of second-chance points against the Gamecocks.
Baylor has a tremendous duo in junior forward Johnathan Motley and junior guard Manu Lecomte. Motley is nearly averaging a double-double with 17.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Lecomte averages 12.3 points a game while shooting 40.8 percent from beyond the arc. Look out for this tag team, as they pose a threat to the Gamecocks' strong defense.
The Bears are also very strong defensively, allowing only 63.5 points per game, which ranks 21st in the country. South Carolina will need to stay hot offensively against the Bears in this matchup.
South Carolina has momentum
South Carolina is advancing to its first ever Sweet 16 since the current format was adopted. The Gamecocks have scored over 80 points in their last two games, making them one of the hottest teams in the tournament, and will need to stay hot in order to keep themselves alive as the bracket thins down.
How the Gamecocks can win
Defense: It is not every day Mike Krzyzewski calls your team’s defense the “toughest defense we’ve played against all year.” South Carolina needs to keep up its physical and stout defensive play against Baylor.
Stay hot offensively: After a horrific first half against Duke offensively, South Carolina heated up to put away the Blue Devils. Look for contributions from Rakym Felder and PJ Dozier on the offensive side of the ball to keep the Cocks rolling in March.
Thornwell, Thornwell, Thornwell: Yes, it's obvious. Give the ball to the SEC Player of the Year and let him show the country his talent. He makes everyone around him better.
Up Next
South Carolina has played two of its best games of the year in the first two rounds of the tournament. The Gamecocks look to keep up the high-level play against Baylor and advance to the Elite Eight against the winner of Florida and Wisconsin.