South Carolina Bracketology Watch: 2/20 Update
South Carolina men’s basketball is still firmly projected to be in the 2024 NCAA Tournament but it would be disingenuous to say last week’s 0-2 record didn’t hurt their seeding and put added pressure on the final five games of the season.
South Carolina is currently a seven-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology for ESPN which he updated on Tuesday. Last Tuesday the Gamecocks were a five-seed and on Friday, after the loss to Auburn but before a loss to LSU, they were a six-seed.
The Gamecocks, with a 21-5 overall record and 9-4 record in SEC play, have been considered a near-lock to make the tournament but they’ll need to avoid a tailspin after Saturday’s home upset at the hands of LSU.
Lunardi’s latest update has South Carolina taking on 10-seed New Mexico and traveling to Omaha, Neb. for the first two rounds as part of the East (Boston) Region.
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ESPN updates its bracket on Tuesday and Friday during conference play and then daily throughout Championship Week in March.
Selection Sunday is set for Sunday, March 17 with the first round of the NCAA Tournament set for March 21-22.
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South Carolina dropped to No. 20 in the AP poll after the two losses.
On Saturday, the Gamecocks appeared to be in the process of bouncing back from the blowout loss to Auburn but struggled down the stretch, surrendering a 16-point lead in the second half and ultimately losing 64-63.
“You got to learn fast,” head coach Lamont Paris said. “There’s lessons to be taught and from winning and from losing and so the only real travesty about this game will be if you don’t learn something from it. There’ll be some learning for sure but I think it’s more about doing.”
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Lunardi’s current bracket puts nine SEC teams in the field, though LSU is not one of them.
Carolina finishes its regular season with matchups against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi State, all of which are in the projected field.
With no midweek game this week, Carolina travels to Ole Miss on Saturday with a 3:30 tipoff on SEC Network.
