Going Dancing! South Carolina makes NCAA Tournament, learns first opponent
It wasn’t a question of whether South Carolina would get in the NCAA Tournament or not. But rather who it would play, when and where.
Now, most of those questions have been answered. The Gamecocks will be a No. 6 seed and face 11-seeded Oregon on Thursday in Pittsburgh, Pa. in the first round of the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. The exact tipoff time will be announced later today.
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Oregon took the Pac-12’s automatic bid, winning the league’s conference championship on Saturday with a 75-68 victory over Colorado.
The win improved the Ducks’ overall record to 23-11 after doing 12-8 in regular-season conference play. Oregon was not projected to make the tournament prior to its run to the tournament title.
The Ducks have at least one unique tie to South Carolina in that former Gamecocks starter Jermaine Couisnard now stars in the green and yellow. The former Gamecock has started all 34 games this season, averaging 15.4 points per game. Couisnard, who transferred from South Carolina after Frank Martin was let go, made the All-Pac-12 Second Team.
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In addition to Couisnard, the Ducks are led by 6-foot-11, 265-pound center N’Faly Dante. The first-team All-Pac-12 selection, averaged career-bests 15.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks this season. He was also named the 2024 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player on Saturday.
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Jackson Shelstad earned All-Freshman honors after averaging 12.7 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
As for South Carolina, this moment has been a long time coming. It marks the team’s first trip to the Big Dance since 2017. That year, the Gamecocks went on a historic run to the Final Four, which was their first and only trip in program history.
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It’s been a fantastic season so far. South Carolina will enter March Madness at 26-7 (13-5 SEC) after being eliminated in the SEC Quarterfinals. It finished 11-5 in Quad 1 and 2 matchups, solidifying itself as a tournament-worthy team.
If the Gamecocks can win their first round matchup in the NCAA Tournament, they’ll face the winner of three-seed Creighton vs. 14-seed Akron.