The Oregon Ducks and South Carolina Gamecocks are set to square off on Thursday in the NCAA Tournament. This game will be played at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. This game features the 11th seeded Ducks against the 6th seeded Gamecocks. The winner of this game will move on to Saturday, where they will take on either Creighton or Akron in the Midwest Region.
The Oregon Ducks won the Pac-12 Conference Tournament. After finishing fourth in the regular season standings, the Ducks ran through the tournament. Oregon beat Colorado in the Pac-12 title game on Saturday.
For the South Carolina Gamecocks, they are 26-7 on the season. The Gamecocks were the second seed in the SEC tournament, and got smashed by Auburn in the conference tournament. Despite that loss, the Gamecocks are 6-4 over their last 10 games.
The South Carolina Gamecocks are -1.5 in this game over Oregon. The total is set for 133.5.
Ducks Looking to Keep Flying
The Pac-12 Tournament was a good time for Coach Altman and his Ducks. The Ducks were great on the defensive end, allowing 66, 59 and 68 points. Defense is the name of the game for Oregon. They will need it, as their offense ranked 123rd in the country, with 75.3 points per game.
The top scorer for Oregon this season has been N’Faly Dante, with 16.2 points per game. The big man is also ripping down 8.8 rebounds per game. Second in scoring for the Ducks is Jermaine Couisnard, with 15.4 per game.
The Oregon Ducks are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021. That season, the Ducks moved to the Round of 32 after a COVID outbreak with VCU forced them to declare a no contest. The Ducks beat Iowa, and then fell to USC in the Sweet 16. Oregon has not lost in the round of 64 since 2008.
Gamecocks Excited to be in the Dance
South Carolina started their season with seven straight wins. The first loss of the season came to Clemson back on December 6th. They did not lose another game until they went to Alabama on January 9th. The Gamecocks also won with their defense, as they only scored 72 points per game.
On the offensive end, look out for Meechie Johnson and B.J. Mack. Both are scoring just shy of 14 points per game. In the recent win over Arkansas, Collin Murray-Boyles had a monster game. The forward scored a team high 24 points and ripped down 7 rebounds.
Known recently for their Women’s Basketball dominance, Lamont Paris, in his second season has the Gamecocks back in the big dance. South Carolina last went to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. That season, they went to the Final Four and lost to Gonzaga. That first round win in 2017 was the first for the program since 1973.
Ducks Beat Gamecocks
Man, this is going to be one of the best games in the first round of the tournament. Two teams that have had some success, but really are a bit under the radar. The Ducks are hot with their wins in the conference tournament.
Oregon is well coached, and will be ready to go in this game. South Carolina is battle tested out of the SEC. When push comes to shove, we are going to take the Oregon Ducks as a small upset winner. We will be Oregon at +1.5 or +105 on the moneyline on Thursday. Enjoy the game!
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