Pressure’s on Florida against S.C.’s defense
There are events in life a young man can’t prepare for:
The first time he asks someone on a date. The first fender bender. The first, well, you know, that first.
It is unclear exactly where on the scale of intimidation lands having to face South Carolina’s felonious defensive pressure. Safe to say the Gamecocks have perfected their demonic style of bad intent, raw hustle and remarkable rotation defense into a Wes Craven-like horror flick.
“I watch from the bench, I see a couple of times players get nervous or not look like themselves,’’ Gamecock’s reserve point guard Rakym Felder of Brooklyn told The Post. “I’ve seen how it struck a lot of top players.’’ And top teams. South Carolina (25-10), the No. 7 seed in the East Region, already has taken out second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Baylor. They play fourth-seeded Florida (27-8) on Sunday at The Garden for the right to go the Gamecocks’ first Final Four.
Duke, Baylor and Marquette, South Carolina’s first NCAA Tournament victim, have combined to average 17.3 turnovers and just 11.3 assists against the Gamecocks.
Never having seen South Carolina’s relentless, unyielding defense, the Blue Devils, Bears and Golden Eagles were struck down like cardboard bowling pins.
“It’s hectic,’’ acknowledged Florida guard Chris Chiozza, whose buzzer-beating 3 took out Wisconsin in an epic regional semifinal Friday night.
“They have guys flying all over the court any time you try to get a shot off, you have two or three guys on you. They’re just energetic, especially at the beginning of the game. They don’t give you any easy looks in the paint. The best bet is to go inside out and just move the ball around until you get an open outside shot.’’
Chiozza says this with authority because the Gators have faced the Gamecocks twice this season. South Carolina won the first meeting, 57-53, in Columbia, S.C.
The Gamecocks held the Gators to 0for-17 on 3-pointers. They used a 14-2 run at the start of the second half to turn a 28-21 deficit into a 35-30 lead. In that run, the Gators were 0-for-9 from the field with four turnovers.
In the Gamecocks’ 70-50 blasting of Baylor in their East Region semifinal, they used an 18-0 first-half run, holding the Bears to 0-for-10 shooting with four turnovers.
Florida, going 9-of-19 on 3-pointers, won the rematch, 81-68, in Gainesville, Fla. The Gators averaged 15.5 turnovers and 10.5 assists in their two games against South Carolina.
They are not great numbers, but they’re better than South Carolina’s tournament opponents have fared. And South Carolina won’t catch the Gators napping on a golf course.
“For teams who haven’t been through that kind of defense and that kind of havoc and how they play, it can be challenging,’’ said Florida’s Devin Robinson. “For us, we played it twice. We know what to expect. We know the guys’ tendencies. We know how physical they can be.
“And we know if we match their toughness or outdo their toughness, we can be successful.’’
That will be the intangible key. Florida also has been terrific defensively this season.
“Very similar,’’ South Carolina coach Frank Martin said of the two teams’ defensive toughness. “Very similar. I find it funny that they say that we’re a physical basketball team and so’s Florida, defensively and offensively.
“We’re not physical because we foul and push. We’re physical because we don’t get out of the way. Some teams get out of the way. We don’t get out of the way.’’