March Madness: Previewing Friday’s Sweet 16 Matchups
South Carolina (7) vs. Baylor (3)
Similar to North Carolina, Baylor also dominates the glass -- they've grabbed 56.8% of available rebounds. South Carolina may not be as great on the glass, but they are incredible at forcing turnovers. The Gamecocks force a turnover on 21.2% of opponents' possessions, which ranks seventh in the nation.
The Gamecocks got to the Sweet 16 by upsetting 2-seeded Duke 88-81 behind a 65-point scoring outburst in the second half. Offense isn't usually the Gamecocks' forte -- they have an offensive rating of just 102.6, which is by far the worst of any team remaining in the tournament.
If Baylor can withstand the pressure and control the rebound battle, they shouldn't have much trouble with South Carolina.
Below are three players to keep an eye on from each team.
| Player | Team | PPG | RPG | eFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Motley | Baylor | 17.3 | 9.9 | 0.528 |
| Manu Lecomte | Baylor | 12.4 | 1.9 | 0.563 |
| Jo Acuil | Baylor | 9.2 | 7.0 | 0.560 |
| Sindarius Thornwell | South Carolina | 21.0 | 7.2 | 0.501 |
| PJ Dozier | South Carolina | 13.6 | 4.8 | 0.439 |
| Chris Silva | South Carolina | 9.8 | 5.7 | 0.550 |
Here is a quick breakdown of the team stats comparison.
| School | nERD | O Rtg | eFG% | Reb% | TOV% | D Rtg | Opp eFG% | Opp TOV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3 Baylor | 16.76 | 112.7 | 0.536 | 56.8 | 17.0 | 97.3 | 0.460 | 14.9 |
| #7. S. Carolina | 13.2 | 102.6 | 0.476 | 50.8 | 15.7 | 91.5 | 0.453 | 21.2 |
