Gamecocks earn top seed in women’s NCAA tourney, will face UNC Asheville

For every other solid men’s program, including a University of North Carolina Tar Heel squad that was 11-3 in the ACC that season yet had lost its chance for an NCAA bid due to a one-point (52-51) loss to SC in the ACC tourney, the NIT – which was overseen for a long time by Montclair’s own Peter Carlesimo – was the only remaining alternative in terms of continuing a quest for a national college basketball title.

SC (22-10) earned a No. 7 seed in its ninth berth to the NCAA Tournament and will face 10th-seeded Marquette (19-12) in the First Round in Greenville, S.C. on Friday, March 17. The 1993, 2005 and 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels lost a game in the ACC Tournament.

Baylor, which didn’t even win its conference tournament, was rewarded with a No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional. “They worked their way up”. They routinely run off 13-2 spurts.

SC will face UNC Asheville at 5 p.m. on Friday as they begin their quest to return to the Final Four.

SC went 3-6 across its last nine99999 games.

Marquette (19-12) is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. TSU’s game against the Bears is set for Saturday, March 18. Meeks’ role has always been as a third or fourth option on this team, but few teams in the country have a guy of his ability playing that No. 4 role. He is setting career highs in scoring average, three-point percentage (.385), three-pointers and rebounds.

Villanova guard Ryan Arcidiacono dribbles upcourt and shovel passes to teammate Kris Jenkins, who lifts up outside the 3-point arc with the final seconds of the 2016 national championship game ticking down.

Coates was recently named to the All-SEC Team. Plus, they don’t have a player with the same type of poise and feel that Marcus Paige brought to last season’s team.

G: Sindarius Thornwell, 6-5, senior, 21.0 ppg., 7.2 rpg. The nation’s second ranked team, Notre Dame, looms in the horizon as a potential national semifinal, and a rematch with heavy favorite UConn wouldn’t come until the National Championship game. He has 153 assists and only 39 turnovers. The victor should get the Tar Heels, and if it is Kentucky it will be a rematch of arguably the most entertaining game of the regular season. That’s unsafe for a higher-seeded team going up against them. Barring an unforeseen and historic upset, the Gamecocks will take on the victor of Michigan State – Arizona State in the regions’ 8-9 matchup in Columbia.

Graves had six victories at Gonzaga when his team was seeded No. 11 or lower – the most of anyone on the women’s side.

Alaina Coates has played her last basketball game for SC.

No. 13 Winthrop vs. The deadline to register your picks is March 16 at 12:00 p.m. ET. This could be a tough game for the Golden Eagles given that this will effectively be a home game for the Gamecocks.

SC is back in the NCAA Tournament after an absence of more than a dozen years. However, the Bulldogs have faltered against lesser competition in St. Johns and Georgetown and are coming into the tournament with back-to-back losses. The Tigers lost to Arizona in the First Round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament by a score of 93-72. Lonzo Ball has the ability to lead the Bruins deep into the tournament with his playmaking ability alone. If Kentucky can survive the trap game of Wichita State (because let’s face it, does anybody ever know how good they REALLY are until they face their first NCAA Tournament test?), they will likely face UCLA in the Sweet 16. Kentucky and UCLA locked up the number 2 and number 3 seeds, respectively, in the south.