NCAA Tournament Elite Eight betting preview and odds: SC vs Florida

Baylor (32-3) is in the Sweet 16 for the ninth year in a row.

In 61 previous NCAA Tournament games, Florida has never faced an SEC school, but that would change in the East regional final on Sunday if the Gators beat Wisconsin and SC defeats Baylor on Friday at Madison Square Garden. And with Duke and Villnova out of the way, there’s no reason Baylor can’t reel off a couple of wins and punch their ticket to the Final Four.

After Wisconsin’s Khalil Iverson hit the front of the rim on a breakaway dunk, Chiozza drove by the Badgers defense at the other end for a layup that tied it at 81 with 24 seconds left. The senior who scored the winning bucket in Wisconsin’s upset of defending champion Villanova, used a spin move to draw a foul going to the hoop.

KeVaughn Allen carried Florida most of the way, breaking out of a slump with a career-high 35 points. Why, because we lost at Ole Miss, who won 22 games.

If the NCAA tournament ended today, SC guard Sindarius Thornwell would be named the event’s Most Outstanding Player.

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The Gamecocks’ superfan – and proud USC alum – says he’s fired up about Friday’s big game against Baylor. and says he’s very confident the squad will roll on to the Final Four.

“Sindarius is quite a player”, English said. There are the occasional short, curt answers, which make “See Jane Run” book passages sound like compound sentences.

Since they know each other so well, there should be considerable familiarity when the Bears (27-7) and Gamecocks (24-10) play in the Sweet 16.

They’ve been friends since 2007 when Scott Drew was on the verge of making his first NCAA tournament appearance with Baylor and Frank Martin was beginning his first college head coaching job at Kansas State.

In the first half, while SC turned a 15-15 game into a 37-22 halftime lead, Baylor got no easy looks. He’s a lights-out shooter, tenacious rebounder and we saw a different side of him in Arizona’s second-round game against St. Mary’s.

“We got to have guys that are going to believe in our mission, that are going to believe in what we want to do”, said Martin of his team’s defensive philosophy. Ishmail Wainright compared South Carolina’s defense to West Virginia’s famous “Press Virginia” look.

“That’s what they game-planned for”.

The East is at the bottom regarding big-name players, but someone who has a shines means everyone’s going to put them on their radar. “And just coming in and we all had our thoughts where like, man, is it really worth it?” “But being around guys like [Sindarius] Thornwell allowed me to understand, I’ve got a responsibility here to get them in for the next opportunity”.

Thornwell’s 3-pointer, his fourth to that point, and a jumper from Rakym Felder, pushed the Gamecocks’ lead to 63-41.

Vitale is correct. Baylor is now the highest seed left alive in the East Region, so technically speaking they are the favorites to advance to the Final Four. The Gamecocks didn’t stop there though, they were only getting started.

SC turned in one of its best defensive efforts of the season in the first half, leading to a 37-22 cushion. The Bears committed 29 turnovers in a blowout loss to the Mountaineers earlier this season.

The universities they once attended, like SC, became “football schools”, especially with integration opening the rosters to black high school football players.

SC led 37-22 at the half, tying for the least amount of points allowed this season in a half.

Stanford: The Cardinal shot just 39 percent in the first half but stayed even in the paint (18-18) and built a slight edge on the boards.

The victor will advance to the Elite Eight on Sunday against the victor of the late Friday game between No. 4 Florida (26-8) and No. 8 Wisconsin (27-9). They’re far from flawless, however, and the Bulldogs can cause them problems with their half-court defense and deep bench. “Which is what matters”, he said.