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NCAA Tournament: Breaking Down The Elite 8 Matchups

By Casey Pazzalia

Mar 16, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; General view of a March Madness basketball prior to the game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Xavier Musketeers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; General view of a March Madness basketball prior to the game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Xavier Musketeers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 18, 2017; Columbia, SC, USA; Florida Gators center Schuyler Rimmer (32) tries to work to the basket covered by South Carolina Gamecocks forward Sedee Keita (24) during the SEC matchup at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina wins 57-53 over Florida. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 18, 2017; Columbia, SC, USA; Florida Gators center Schuyler Rimmer (32) tries to work to the basket covered by South Carolina Gamecocks forward Sedee Keita (24) during the SEC matchup at Colonial Life Arena. South Carolina wins 57-53 over Florida. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports /

East Region: No. 7 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Florida

  • Date: March 26, 2017
  • Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
  • Tip-Off: 2:20 P.M ET
  • TV: CBS
  • Line: Florida (-3)

This Elite Eight game is probably the most interesting of the four games, mainly because it’s rare to see an inter-conference matchup this late in the year.

Like Xavier, the Gamecocks are one of the most surprising teams in the tournament. They’ve had one of the most difficult roads to the Elite Eight, beating three KenPom Top-35 teams so far. In the first round they knocked off No. 10 Marquette, then upset No. 2 Duke in the Round of 32, and finally dismantled No. 3 Baylor in the Sweet 16.

Frank Martin and company have used a hard-nose defense to make their run, allowing only 68 points per game in their three games.

Florida looked like they were going to miss out on the Elite Eight, as they were trailing Wisconsin 83-81 with only four seconds left in the Sweet 16. Luckily, junior Chris Chiozza hit a three-pointer on the run as time expired to win 84-83.

https://twitter.com/TitanicHoops/status/845502084241903616

Sophomore KeVaughn Allen is leading the Gators in scoring with 14.1 points per game.

This will be the third meeting of the year between South Carolina and Florida, with the season series currently tied 1-1.