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South Carolina will face Oregon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday in Pittsburgh, in what will be the first meeting between two teams that have not participated in March Madness in recent times.
South Carolina basketball is participating in an NCAA tournament for the first time since the Final Four in 2017; Oregon earned its first NCAA tournament berth in 3 years.
South Carolina (26-7) ranks No. 6 in the Midwest region, while Oregon (23-11) ranks No. 11. They will play at PPG Paints Arena at four p. m. , with the winner advancing to face the winner between No. Third seed Creighton (23-9) from the Big East and fourth seed Akron (24-10) from MAC.
“Survive and keep going, you know what time it is,” South Carolina guard Ta’Lon Cooper said.
Oregon had to win the Pac-12 tournament to reach the price of March Madness, and that’s precisely what the Ducks did impressively.
Coach Dana Altman’s team won 3 games in as many days to earn the name in Las Vegas, recording wins over the No. five UCLA, No. 3 seed Arizona and No. 3 Colorado, keeping them within 70 numbers each.
Both groups have undergone primary reviews in recent times, however, Oregon senior guard Jermaine Couisnard is arguably a familiar face to Gamecocks fans. Chicago’s Couisnard played his first 3 seasons in South Carolina before being traded.
“It’s everything I’ve ever sought in my entire life, to compete at the highest level,” Couisnard said after the Ducks’ Pac-12 title.
Couisnard hit the game-winning shot for South Carolina in a win over Kentucky in 2020 and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
South Carolina doesn’t mind touring. The Gamecocks went 12-4 this season in real games on the road and at fair venues, adding seven SEC road wins, tying the 1996-97 team for the SEC’s road win all.
Their 12-4 record on the road was the highest in the SEC and the fourth-best record among the Power Six, Houston, UConn and Purdue teams, each of which went 13-3 on the road.
South Carolina 75, Oregon 70: The Gamecocks have been this season and we think they’ll be the same here on Thursday.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and USA TODAY. Email skeepfer@gannett. com and him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer.
This article originally published in Greenville News: South Carolina vs. South Carolina PredictionOregon for March Madness Round of 16