A trip to the Final Four will be on the line on Sunday afternoon when the Florida Gators and the South Carolina Gamecocks matchup at the Madison Square Garden in New York. It’s the most improbable of all four Elite Eight matches. The Gamecocks haven’t won a tournament game since 1973 and the Gators survived their last round on a crazy buzzer triple.
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Date/Time: Sunday March 26th, 2017. 02:20 PM ET
TV Coverage: CBS
#4 Florida Gators vs. #7 South Carolina Gamecocks
LINE: Florida -3 (-105)
Total: 134.5 points (-104 over, +100 under)
Florida sees comfortable lead evaporate, win on an overtime buzzer beater
The Florida Gators (27-8) vs. Wisconsin Badgers game provided a lot of excitement, none bigger than the off balance, running floater three pointer to beat the buzzer in overtime, hit by Gators guard Chris Chiozza. An improbable hit sent the Gators to the Elite Eight, where they probably already saw themselves during the game. After trailing by as many as 11 points in the first half and allowing Wisconsin to wipe out their 10-point lead in the second, the Gators – behind KeVaughn Allen’s strong shooting – seemingly put the game away by going on a 16-7 run. The Gators led by 8 with less than 2 minutes to go, but allowed Wisconsin to tie it with a late three pointer.
Chiozza was a hero of the day with the winning shot (and another late layup), finishing with 8 points 5 assists and 4 rebounds, but it was all KeVaughn Allen before that. Allen carried a big scoring load for the Gators with 35 points on 24 field goals. No other player managed to score in double digits, but Florida had six players with 7 or 8 points apiece. They’ve shot worse than their opponents, 45.2% to Badgers’ 50.9%, but made up for it with offensive rebounding and taking care of the ball to create extra opportunities. It was far from a brilliant performance. Their defense was not as influential as usual and the Gators passed the ball aimlessly around the perimeter, most players looking scared to put the ball up.
It had to happen after the Florida Gators did everything right in the previous round, allowing only 39 points to Virginia, but once the emotions settle, coach White will have to remind his players what their bread and butter was this season. They’ve only allowed 66.2 points on 40.8 percent shooting overall.
South Carolina continues their dream season
The South Carolina Gamecocks (25-10) will play in the Elite Eight for the first time in the school history after a dominant defensive performance against Baylor, winning comfortably 70-50 in the Sweet 16. It was a feisty performance that upset their opponents, threw them off their comfort zone. The Gamecocks were very physical from the start of the game. They double teamed Motley from the top and run their defensive rotations with exemplary effort and dedication. And, what every good defense needs, the Bears missed shots. A 16-0 run in the first half set up a comfortable lead for the Gamecocks, who were able to respond to Baylor’s second half attempts to make a dent in the lead by timely threes.
There were no individual stars for South Carolina on Friday, but senior Thornwell and Notice put their marks on the game. Sindarius Thornwell scored 24 points and collected 6 rebounds, while Notice played excellent defense and added 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and shot 3-of-4 on deep tries. They shot 46 percent from the field and matched Baylor in the rebounding battle. Baylor shot only 25 percent in the first half and 30.4 percent for the game, missing 7 of 20 freebies as well. The Bears reserves were just 1-of-17 from the field. Most of the credit goes to the South Carolinas suffocating defense that limits opposition to 39.9 percent shooting for the season and 64.9 points per game output. They are mostly limited on the offensive end (except Thornwell), and score 72.6 point per game this season.
#4 Florida Gators vs. #7 South Carolina Gamecocks Game Trends & Prediction
The Florida Gators are 19-13-1 ATS overall and 15-18 against the O/U. The Gators have covered the spread the last three games and have played under the projected line on five of the last seven occasions.
The South Carolina Gamecocks won against Marquette, Duke and Baylor in the Tournament, covering all three times. In the 7 games leading up to the postseason, the Gamecocks have gone just 1-6 ATS, and have a 14-16-2 season record. They are also 13-18-1 against the O/U, returning to the old ways after two unexpected offensive explosions.
As the both schools are playing in the SEC conference, they are no strangers to each other. This familiarity will help the less experienced Gamecocks and save them from being eaten by the game magnitude. The Gators won comfortably about a month ago (81-66 as a 7.5 favorite at home), but the Gamecocks won the January, low scoring one at their home. The books have opened with Florida being a 3 point favorite, and I’m really glad to have such a line. I’m going with the Gators. The total points line is currently at 134.5, which is on par with the previous times the teams met this season. It’s more likely to be a low scoring game, but Florida won’t be surprised by the Gamecocks as they are more familiar with their game style, so they might push the scoring to over. I’m passing on the total.
My Pick: Florida -3
Total: Pass
