NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT: SUNDAY’S GAMES

SOUTH CAROLINA VS. FLORIDA

No. 7 South Carolina (25-10) vs. No. 4 Florida (27-8); East Regional final, 2:20 p.m.

BOTTOM LINE: The SEC rivals have never met in a bigger game than they will Sunday at Madison Square Garden. South Carolina is looking for its first Final Four appearance. The Gamecocks have been maybe the biggest surprise of the tournament, beating No. 2 seed Duke and blowing out third-seeded Baylor. Florida is trying to get to the Final Four for the sixth time and first since 2014 — and for the first time under coach Mike White. In 2015, White replaced Billy Donovan, who guided the Gators to two NCAA titles and four Final Fours in 19 seasons. The last time SEC teams played to go to the Final Four was 1986 when LSU edged Kentucky 59-57.

RUBBER MATCH: The Gators and Gamecocks split two meetings this season, with each winning at home. South Carolina won the first game 57-53, despite shooting 29 percent from the field. Florida took the second, 81-66.

PRETTY UGLY: South Carolina admittedly likes to play a style that is not always aesthetically pleasing. “It’s beautiful to us,” coach Frank Martin said. Florida also likes to mix it up. The Gators turned around the Wisconsin game when they increased the pressure on the defensive end. They ended up getting 16 turnovers against Wisconsin, which came in averaging 11.8. “We’re both two tough defensive teams and we take pride in the defensive end,” White said after beating the Badgers with an overtime buzzer-beater. “We know each other well, so it’s going to be a grind it out game, probably down to the wire just like this one.”

SLUMP BUSTED: Lost in a bit in the drama of Florida’s Sweet 16 victory on a 3 as time expired by Chris Chiozza was the career-game from KeVaughn Allen. The Gators’ leading scorer had managed just 11 points in their first two NCAA games, but he had a career-best 35 against the Badgers. He started the tournament 5 for 31 from the field.

THORN IN FLORIDA’S SIDE: SEC player of the year Sidarius Thornwell scored 43 points in two games against the Gators and he has been maybe the best individual player of the NCAA Tournament, averaging 25.7 per game.

KENTUCKY VS. N. CAROLINA

No. 2 Kentucky (32-5) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (30-7); South Regional final, 5:05 p.m.

BOTTOM LINE: No NCAA Tournament game has ever featured so much history as this regional final. North Carolina and Kentucky have combined for 244 tournament wins with this Kentucky’s 56th NCAA berth, ahead of only North Carolina (48) for the most ever. Only North Carolina has earned more No. 1 seeds (16) than Kentucky’s 12. Nobody has made more Final Fours than North Carolina (19), and now the Tar Heels are a win away from making their 10th as the No. 1 seed. A win means moving even closer to padding an already stunning resume.

REMATCH: Kentucky avenged a regular-season loss against UCLA in the regional semifinal. Now it’s the Tar Heels’ turn to seek payback for a 103-100 loss on Dec. 17 in Las Vegas. Justin Jackson scored 34 points for North Carolina in that game, only to be topped by Malik Monk’s 47, including the game-winning 3-pointer. North Carolina didn’t have stingy defender Theo Pinson for that game. The Tar Heels did have starting guard Kenny Williams III before losing him to a season-ending injury.

TAR HEELS’ EDGE: North Carolina leads the all-time series 23-15 and is the only school with both 10 or more wins and a winning record against the Wildcats. This will be the fourth game between the programs in the tournament — all in regional finals with the Tar Heels holding a 2-1 edge.

NUMBERS TO KNOW: Kentucky has all the momentum with a 14-game winning streak that is the longest in the nation. These teams both average 85.2 points a game, though Kentucky shoots a smidge better (47.5 percent) than the Tar Heels (47.2 percent). The key likely will be on the boards where North Carolina leads the nation averaging 43.7 rebounds per game.

DID YOU KNOW: North Carolina coach Roy Williams has 73 tournament wins, second only to Mike Krzyzewski’s 91. Williams is 8-4 in the Elite Eight, including 4-3 at North Carolina. But nobody has more tournament wins since 2010 than Calipari with 26.