They may not be the lowest seed in the tournament, but South Carolina is likely the biggest underdog remaining. No one really expected the SEC team to make it to the Sweet 16, especially since they haven't won a game in the Ncaa Tournament since 1973. They'll be taking on Baylor, who is looking to get back to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2012. This matchup is the first of the East region semifinals and will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York. Tipoff is set for 7:29 PM Eastern time and the game will be broadcast on TBS and the March Madness Live app.
No. 7 South Carolina (24-10, 13-16-2 ATS)
It didn't really feel like the Gamecocks were going to be on a postseason run. They lost five of their last seven games entering the Big Dance, including a 64-53 loss to Alabama in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. The struggles simply didn't matter as they found themselves bounding out Marquette and stunning the nation with an 88-81 victory over Duke.
Sindarius Thornwell (21.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg) continues to play at an incredible level. He had a tremendous showing with 24 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists in the upset over Duke. That was coming off the heels of 29 points and 11 boards against Marquette.
No. 3 Baylor (27-7, 15-14 ATS)
The Bears have been knocked off early in the tournament in recent years, but they finally got the monkey off their back after blowing out New Mexico State and sliding past USC 82-78.
While the Trojans shot more efficiently in the contest, the Bears were able to control things with a 31-20 rebounding advantage.
Johnathan Motley (17.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg) recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds in the recent win. He's now had five double-doubles in the last seven games. This team thrives or dies with him; his worst outing in this stretch was 13 points and 7 boards in a Big 12 tournament loss to Kansas State.
Baylor has won the last three meetings against South Carolina dating back to 2010. The Bears are favored by 3.5 points and the total O/U is set at 136.5 points. They're just 5-11 against the spread in their last 16 games as a favorite.
