March Madness 2017: Ranking every team in the NCAA Tournament’s chances

Tournament Champion Hampton University Lady Pirates earned a #15-seed in the Bridgeport Region and will travel to #2-seed Duke University on Saturday night in the NCAA Tournament. The ninth-seeded Spartans will face eighth-seeded Arizona State on Friday, March 17, 2017, in SC.

CDA News’ look at the NCAA tournament continues with the No. 7 seed in the East Region, the South Carolina Gamecocks.

South Carolina Gamecocks star center Alaina Coates is out for the entire NCAA Tournament, the school confirmed Tuesday. We could get into the reasons 3-point shooting doesn’t tail off as contests go on – more reps trying the shot, greater concentration on endurance since ’87 – but that’s a story for another day.

Last year’s tournament ended abruptly when fourth-seeded Syracuse upset top-seeded SC 80-72 in Sioux Falls, S.D., but the Gamecocks (27-4) aren’t trying to make amends for that this season. It’s hard not to, because the replays run on sports shows so often.

The Gamecocks have played well in Coates’ absence, winning all five games since the ankle injury. He’s even admitted to the media he’s putting a little too much pressure on himself to be spectacular. I can feel it.

The NCAA Tournament is starting this week, driving college basketball fans insane as they fill out multiple brackets. But then again, the Bulldogs aren’t. The return of sophomore Allonzo Trier set a fire under this team and propelled them to a true championship contender.

SC hasn’t won a game in the NCAA Tournament since 1973. Last year’s team certainly could, but that team had greater size and depth. The 2010 Blue Devils’ roster was filled with upperclassmen before Krzyzewski embraced the one-and-done nature of modern college basketball with the 2015 team. “It’s always a possibility for another historic moment”, Weaver said.

Notre Dame was rewarded with the No. 1 seed in the Lexington regional even though Staley argues the Gamecocks played a tougher schedule than the Fighting Irish.

They’re led by do-everything 6-5 senior Sindarius Thornwell, who averages 21.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

“It was the pain we felt, that really drove us to become better, not only as players, but as people on and off the court”, Matt Jones said Thursday at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the site of Duke’s first round game. The Gamecocks aren’t on the level of some of the other No. 7 seeds, and they probably aren’t as good as either Wisconsin or Virginia Tech, the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds in the East. Be wary, Butler. He’s got the profile of a player who could go off for a 40-point game.

“It’s been inconsistent”, Williams said of his team’s defense. Pinson has no position, but he doesn’t need one when he can impact the game in so many ways, while Berry is one of the nation’s best point guards.

The Big 12 Bears lost to 12th-seeded Yale previous year after 14th-seed Georgia State pulled off a first-round upset in 2015 on R.J. Hunter’s 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. Moos missed nearly the whole Pac 12 season after hurting her foot in the second overtime of Arizona State’s win over California on January 1. There was one stat that said games where we haven’t gotten as many offensive rebounds we’ve lost.