Gamecocks are Elite at last
S. CAROLINA 70 BAYLOR 50
Baylor encountered the suffocating, unrelenting, physical defense of South Carolina and wilted like a flower in a summer drought.
The No. 7-seed Gamecocks prolonged their unexpected NCAA tournament run Friday night at the Garden, dominating the No. 3 Bears in a 70-50 Sweet 16 victory. South Carolina advances to Sunday’s East Regional final and will face No. 4 Florida after the Gators shocked No. 8 Wisconsin at the buzzer in overtime in Friday’s late game.
The Gamecocks will be playing in the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
“We pride ourselves on our defense,” senior Sindarius Thornwell said. “We know that’s our bread and butter and we know we have a good defense and we go out and guard.”
“Defense is our staple,” added Duane Notice, who scored 11 points and went 3 of 4 from three-point land.
“We can’t control if the shot goes in. We can’t control the referee making calls. But what we can control is our hustle, heart and effort and control how hard and intense we are on defense,” Notice said. “So throughout the year we pride ourselves on our defensive schemes and we want to implement them every chance we get.”
Baylor and South Carolina slogged through an ugly contest, particularly in the opening half. The teams combined for just 28 points in the first 10 minutes of play. But then the Gamecocks stormed ahead thanks to a methodical 18-0 run that spanned almost eight minutes, turning a two-point deficit into a 15-point halftime lead.
“It’s the best defensive team I’ve coached in college basketball,” South Carolina coach Frank Martin said of his squad. “No doubt.”
The Bears never recovered from that debilitating scoreless stretch. They shot just 25% from the field in the first half, and didn’t fare much better in the final 20 minutes. They went 3 of 13 from behind the arc in the contest.
“Obviously, the game didn’t go like we wanted it to go,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “But you really got to credit South Carolina. I thought Coach Martin did a great job prepping his guys, and they really made it tough for us to score.”
Baylor pulled within 11 points with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but the Gamecocks responded by knocking down back-to-back threes to squelch the comeback bid. The Bears wouldn’t get that close again.
“We really couldn’t buy a basket,” Baylor star forward Johnathan Motley said.
Thornwell — the South Carolina senior guard who Mike Krzyzewski dubbed the “best unheralded great player” in the country after the Gamecocks’ upset victory over Duke in the second round — paced his team with 24 points on 6 of 14 shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.
New Jersey product Chris Silva added 12 points and seven rebounds for South Carolina, including 7 of 8 shooting at the charity stripe. Gamecocks guard P.J. Dozier finished with 12 points.
Motley scored 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting but was stifled for most of the night.
He made just four of his first 13 attempts and was one of many Bears who fell victim to South Carolina’s pressure.
“We have been real good defensively all year,” Martin said. “We were on point defensively today.”