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South Carolina basketball is a 1½-point favorite against Oregon in its first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday – the slimmest margin of victory projected in the Midwest Region’s opening-round matchups.
The Gamecocks are used to not being heavy favorites, so it’s nothing new for coach Lamont Paris’ team.
“We’re not the sexy pick. “We’ve never been the sexy pick,” Paris said. “There will continue to be plenty of things to motivate this group, to play with a chip on their shoulders.”
South Carolina (26-7) will get that opportunity against the Ducks (23-11), who earned a berth in March Madness by winning three games in three days en route to the Pac-12 Tournament title after a fourth-place league finish in the regular season.
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South Carolina basketball live score updates vs. Oregon
FINAL: Oregon 87, South Carolina 73
The Gamecocks finished 26-8 in Year 2 of the Lamont Paris era, an unquestioned successful season.
Meechie Johnson and Collin Murray-Boyles will be among the probable returnees next season presuming they return to Columbia, and that would be removed the starting point for next year’s roster.
Paris will certainly be irritated by Oregon shooting 59% from the floor given how the Gamecocks have defended all season. Jermaine Couisnard finished with 40 points against his former school. Meechie Johnson led the Gamecocks with 24 points.
Oregon 78, South Carolina 65 with 2:09 left second half | Uphill climb for the Gamecocks
Both Meechie Johnson and BJ Mack have four fouls. Jermaine Couisnard has an Oregon NCAA Tournament program-record 36 points. The Gamecocks are 2:09 away from their season’s end.
Oregon 67, South Carolina 54 with 6:58 left second half | Meechie Johnson has 12 points in the second half, but Gamecocks need stops
Oregon is shooting above 50% from the floor in the game and in the second half. Jermaine Couisnard is up to 29 points, with N’Faly Dante at 22 points. South Carolina has not found an answer for either Ducks star so far.
Meechie Johnson has 15 points, 12 coming in the second half. Gamecocks are shooting above 50% from the field in the second half, including 4-of-6 from 3.
BJ Mack has four fouls and has been sitting for a little while now. Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk got some playing time during that segment.
Oregon 57, South Carolina 43 with 11:52 left second half | Gamecocks defense struggling with Couisnard, Dante
Jermaine Couisnard is up to 26 points on 11-of-17 shooting as he torches the Gamecocks backcourt on the dribble-drive.
Oregon’s N’Faly Dante has 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Meechie Johnson and Ta’Lon Cooper have started to get going on the other end, but South Carolina needs stops and scores to string together quickly.
HALFTIME: Oregon 34, South Carolina 29
The Gamecocks got to the free throw line just enough to keep tabs with Oregon during an eight-minute stretch where SC did not make a field goal. Oregon took advantage with an 18-6 run, but Ta’Lon Cooper ends the half with a banked-in 60-foot buzzer beater to cut Oregon’s lead to 5.
BJ Mack has seven points on 3-of-8 shooting, while Jacobi Wright has five points on 2-of-4 shooting. Those are the only two Gamecocks with multiple made field goals.
Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard has 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. The Ducks shot 60% in the first half.
South Carolina 20, Oregon 19 at 7:04 first half | Jermaine Couisnard keeping Oregon within a bucket
After back-to-back Gamecocks 3-pointers, Oregon’s Jermaine Couisnard answers with five straight points including a wide open 3.
Meechie Johnson had one of those South Carolina 3-pointers but committed his second foul right before the media timeout.
South Carolina 13, Oregon 13 at 10:01 first half | Grind it out game
South Carolina is on a 3-minute scoring drought but is tied at 13 midway through the first half. SC’s defense has forced seven Oregon turnovers so far. Ducks have shot 6-of-10 so far, but the Gamecocks defense is making everything difficult.
This could be a first-to-60 points game.
Gamecocks settling into flow of the game against Oregon’s multiple looks
South Carolina had a slow start in the first few minutes but have settled into navigating the Oregon matchup zone.
Those 8-footers are going to be there in the middle of that zone. Can South Carolina make enough of them? Oregon leads 7-5 at the first timeout.
Underway in Pittsburgh
Oregon and South Carolina get underway at about 4:10 pm ET in Pittsburgh. The winner gets Creighton in the second round after the Jays beat Akron earlier Thursday.
Former Gamecocks guard Jermaine Couisnard is among the Oregon starters, as is normal.
What channel is South Carolina basketball vs. Oregon on today?
South Carolina basketball vs. Oregon start time
- Date: March 21, 2024
- Time: 4 pm ET
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