No Villanova or Duke, but a fierce battle in East final
NEW YORK - A basketball flew up inside Madison Square Garden and if it didn't quite hit that iconic ceiling - well, punts have had less hang time during what is alleged to be the real season down in Southeastern Conference country.
NEW YORK - A basketball flew up inside Madison Square Garden and if it didn't quite hit that iconic ceiling - well, punts have had less hang time during what is alleged to be the real season down in Southeastern Conference country.
The ball finally came down and a South Carolina Gamecocks ballplayer threw it back up again like a beach ball at a summer concert. Celebration on.
Carolina is going to the Final Four. . . . No, not that Carolina.
The seconds counted down, a chant filled the Garden - USC, USC . . . Not that USC.
If you spent this winter watching the Big East or Big Ten, if you weren't really into the minutiae of the SEC, you may not have known the names of any of those Gamecocks out there fighting Florida possession-by-possession in the NCAA East Regional final.
Forget the jerseys, or which jerseys were supposed to be here. A Final Four stood on the line and if neither of the two teams working for it even made the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals, that didn't impact the stakes here for a second.
In and out, and a spin, and a fastbreak, and in and out at the other end. But a foul, Gamecocks to the line. Just enough foul shots to finish off a 77-70 upset, a No. 7 seed knocking off No. 4, headed for Phoenix.
When Vegas put up odds going into the Sweet 16, no players from the East Regional were even in the top 12 listed for most outstanding player of the whole NCAA tournament.
Make some room now for Sindarius Thornwell, South Carolina, who ignored his own foul trouble Sunday and scored 26 points. And P.J Dozier, another South Carolina native who stayed home to play for Frank Martin, and kept cutting to the hoop for 17 more.
He might not make the Vegas odds, but Maik Kotsar, from Tallin, Estonia, went after a ball and took out the computers for the Florida radio network. There were 10 seconds left, game already in the bag. The Gamecocks were still flying around on defense.
The Gators made 7 of 12 three-pointers for a halftime lead, but none after the break, no threes in 14 tries. And if the reasonable shots aren't going in against South Carolina, you've got troubles.
"They're the best in the country in terms of pressuring you and making you turn it over," Florida coach Mike White said later.
White had talked of introducing a "tough dude" culture in Gainesville. It was a legit battle of tough dudes.
Walking the concourse, a couple wore Duke gear, but a quick tour revealed nobody was around in Villanova colors. It's not like the NCAA isn't prepared for a top seed going down in the second round. Villanova fans reserving tickets online had the option of canceling if their team went down. Gamecocks and Gators fans filled the building. Maybe it wasn't a tough ticket like Duke vs. Villanova would have been, but there wasn't a soul here talking about Duke or Villanova.
Frank Martin will be a big deal at the Final Four. The heart you see in South Carolina's coach, the son of Cuban exiles, it isn't hard to spot. Martin talked of his father walking out on his mother. He talked of going to Wendy's or Burger King every other Friday with his mother and sister for the big family meal - "she gave me the courage to try to do this for a living."
Martin talked of Bob Huggins giving a guy "who wasn't worth a crap as a player" a chance as a coach, and more chances, and how Huggins pointed to him as a successor when Huggins left Kansas State for West Virginia.
He talked of his wife turning him down seven times for a date before relenting.
He talked of how when people ask him what music he listens to, he says Sinatra, and to hear the most iconic Sinatra song blare as he get up on a ladder to cut down on a net - "pretty powerful."
There were two nets to cut down. As more South Carolina players cut down a second one, a Billy Joel song about New York filled the world's most famous arena. "It comes down to reality . . ."
The beauty of the NCAA tournament is that it typically doesn't matter who or even from where - the stakes make the drama. The ball flies high at the end.
@jensenoffcampus