The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 06, 1998, Page 5, Image 5
^ Alabama 72
Vanderbilt 62
^ Georgia 79
Miss. St. 76
Friday, March 6,1998
, Gamecoc
sports editor kCWM HUNT
It all started back in Octobe
amongst a "Madness" of fans, slar
dunks, and celebrities on the floor c
b\?a*\lr Awvm a 'l'U atm
x' i an a. ivaiului c /ii ciia. ixiat mauiics
was of course of the Midnight variety
and while it was loads of fun for all
nothing that happened that night ha
a great impact on the 1997-98 editioi
9 of the Gamecocks.
Now another Madness has enters
the lives of the 12 young men who com
prise the Gamecock basketball tear
and their loyal legion of rooster boost
ers. But this time the stakes are high
The outcome means everything.
Win, and they get another breatl
of life along with the chance to still cap
ture an SEC title. Lose, and the Game
cocks earn no title and might have t
a start using up those frequent flyer mile
- to reach their tournament destinatioi
out west.
The bearing of this weekend'
Southeastern Conference Tournamen
to be in the 26,000-seat Georgia Dom
in Atlanta, Ga. is huge for the Game
cocks.
Not huge from a standpoint of having
to win to be able to make the NCAA
Tournament, but huge because this
weekend will go a long way in deter
mining seeding and region.
With 21 wins that include quality
wins over Maryland, Georgia, Tennessee,
Cincinnati and Florida, the
Gamecocks are locked for at least a No.
4 seed. Make it to the championship
game of the SEC Tournament in Atlanta
and that seed could move up to a
No. 3.
But to get to that point, the Gamecocks
have to face some stiff competi^
tion.
Because the sports staff wants tc
go home and watch the Florida-Auburn
game tonight, we don't know who the
Gamecocks will be playing, so we will
look at the Gamecocks against both
teams. By now you probably alreadj
know who won, so just read the sectior
that applies.
A Florida: The Gamecocks have facec
Billy Donavan's Gators twice this yeai
and beat them 74-72 in Columbia ir
late January. The game was tied late
until junior Bj Mckie missed one of his
patented spin shots but was tappec
back in by SEC All-Freshman tean
member Antonio Grant, who would g(
on to more heroics in the Cincinatt
game.
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^ went into a bout that resembled mor<
of a fight between Ric Flair and Hoi
Kentucky
larty WILLIAMS
Scoop Shots
And so it has come to this.
^ One year gone, a regular season
complete, and the Gamecocks' basketball
team is where it always wanted to
be. It finally has the chance to right
what went so dreadfully wrong last year
the postseason.
Somehow, you knew it would come
down to this.
A year ago tonight, the Gamecocks
were on top of the world. The 72-66
^ shocker at Kentucky still fresh on their
minds. The No. 4 national ranking. Hie
seven straight wins.
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Game 3?g;$flp.m. t*meJ
E3 Tennessee
JiLrl!
E4 Georgia
Game 2 ???F^
% W5 Mississippi St.
W3 Auburn ||.
Game 4 ? 9:45 pM Gam |"
E6 Florida "T
Thursday, March 5 Friday, M
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The Ga
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If the seeds hold them, Georgia will
fnpp OIp Miss latpr tivlav n-pnreri n Vipat
ks to spen<
lywood Hogan than it did a college basketball
game. Junior Bj Mckie was whisr
tied for a technical foul and was later
Q slapped with a one-half game suspen'f
sion for throwing an elbow against the
s Gators. The Gamecocks still managed
'> to triumph in the game, 79-74.
"The thing about Florida that
would scare me about them if we played
them in the tournament other than the
threes that they hit is the fact that we
rl 1 1 j. j.1 i ! i j
nave ueaien mem twice aireaay ana 11
l" is so tough to win three games in a year
Q against any team," Head Coach Eddie
Fogler said.
Florida is a tough team who is
known for their three-point shot. The
h Gators hit 16 in two games against the
h Gamecocks this season. Florida led the
* SEC this season in three-point field
0 goals by making 262 out of 641 attempts
s for a 40.9 percent clip.
When you look individually at the
Gators' shooting, junior Greg Stolt hits
s 50.5 percent of his tries, while sophot
more Kenyan Weaks hits 50 percent of
e his three-pointers.
Junior Jason Williams is the
Gators' leading scorer with 17.1 points
per game.
"Florida is capable of beating any1
body," junior forward William Gallman
said. "They hit those threes really well,
they did against us in both games this
year."
Auburn: The Gamecocks played
Auburn back on January 24th on the
plains of Auburn, Ala. The bench play
saved the Gamecocks that day as
they outscored the Tigers 27-2 off the
bench. Carolina managed to win the
game despite hitting only one field goal
in the final 13 minutes of the game.
Melvin Watson had his season high
' seven assists in this game.
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[arch 6 Saturday, March 7 Suncb
, "Auburn is a real physical team,
I and they play real good," Gallman said.
, "They have been struggling of late
, though."
i After a strong conference start, the
Tigers have slowed way down by losing
their last four conference games and
. only winning two of their last eight.
Those losses include double-digit loses
to Kentucky, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.
3 If the Gamecocks advance past the
I quarterfinals tonight at 9:45 p.m., then
i they will face the winner of the brack)
et that features SEC West Champ
i Ole Miss. That game is slated for 3:15
on Saturday.
3 Ole Miss plays at 3 p.m. today
5 against the winner of yesterday's Geor
gia-Mississippi State game.
loss may he
That night, in the quarterfinals of
the Southeastern Conference tourna_
_ A 1K V* TTOn i. _ J i-_ ?
I meni in iviempnis, uot coasieu iu a
modest win over Alabama. They shot
well, played staunch defense. The next
day, though, it would all begin to crumble.
Whatever was the impetus for
the two wins over Kentucky, the conference
title, the distinction of being the
fourth-best team in the land, it wasn't
there in the semifinals against Georgia.
It didn't return against Coppin
State. You know the grisly details.
But thanks to last week's season1
ending loss to Kentucky, we don't have
' to worry about any smug feelings had
> by the Gamecocks when they begin another
postseason tonight.
jastern Conference 1
Atlanta, Ga.
Georgia Dome (26,00(
mini
vwuw;'
Ole Miss this year 70-68 in Athens.
The Gamecocks have beaten the
Bulldogs twice this year including the
buzzer-beating win last Tuesday night
on ESPN. If they face the Bulldogs they
will once again have the challenge of
defeating a team three times in one
year.
If the seeds hold however Ole Miss
will be the Gamecocks opponent on Saturday
assuming a Carolina victory
tonight. Ole Miss handily defeated the
Gamecocks in Oxford in early January
in both teams' first conference game of
the year. The final tally from that game
saw Carolina lose 73-54.
Everybody expects Kentucky to
cruise to the championship game in the
other half of the bracket. And with good
reason. The Wildcats have defeated all
of the teams on their side of the
hroMrot at looct nnco tViia uoor TTio Wilrl.
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cats' two conference losses are both to
Florida and Ole Miss who they would
not face until the Championship game.
Of the Gamecocks' five conference
losses only one (Ole Miss) is in their
bracket. Tennessee, Kentucky (two loses),
and Arkansas are all in the other
half and would not be faced until the
Championship game.
And the Gamecocks want to face
the Wildcats again. They were embarrassed
in Rupp Arena earlier this year,
and Saturday our Senior Day was ruined
by the Wildcats.
This year the SEC Tournament is
as wide open as it has been in years.
Instead of Kentucky as the favorite and
only one other team with a chance, as
many as five teams have a chance to
___ mv _ .1 : r r :i. _ _
win 11 an. ine odvious iour iavomes
are USC, Kentucky, Arkansas and Ole
Miss. The other team with the talent
to win is Tennessee who handed the
Gamecocks a loss on the road by one
point.
The big factor working against Tennessee
is the fact that they have no firstround
bye like the other favorites so
they have to win four games instead of
just three.
The Gamecocks open play at 9:45
tonight on WIS-TV in the Columbia
area. If they advance to Saturday, the
game will be at 3:15 p.m. also on WISTV.
If the Gamecocks can advance to
the SEC Championship game at noon
on Sunday, that game will be nationally
televised on CBS.
lp USC avo
Last year, once the victory over
Kentucky was assured, a Bacchanakian
celebration ensued, stretching from the
airport to Five Points. The players took
part. Last Saturday, as the clock ticked
down on the regular season at Frank
McGuire Arena, the Gamecocks were
ticked off.
Truth is, finishing second to the
Wildcats might have been the best thing
to happen.
In the hours and days following
the glorious win at Kentucky last year,
there was a palpable sense of accomplishment
that served as a serious
impediment to the Gamecock's postseason
success. With that win. USC had
surpassed every goal it had set for ittournament
? I
1
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1 ? 12p.m.
NCAA Tournament
Representative
ly, March 8
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mecock
Ireak being
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| | | '*
Senior Ryan Stack begins play in his 1
game. Stack has averaged 9.6 ppg, 5-9
dd disastrou
self back in October 1996, when prac- w
tices began. gi
That sense of accomplishment
doomed the Gamecocks in those losses la
to Georgia and Coppin State. S
Presumably, after coming up short ^
in the SEC race, the Gamecocks have 11
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Llic ULUigci tins jcai. 111c ^lajcio occiv
vindication and closure. Not just in the
NCAAs, but the conference tourney g<
as well. "1
"I think we can win the big games, ^
and I'm not just talking about the
NCAAs," Bj Mckie said, following the "1
loss to Kentucky. "This game wasn't n
everything."
Indeed it wasn't, especially when a
you realize what last year's win at Rupp p
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ast SEC Tournament tonight against t)
rpg, and 1.9 rpg, and is 5th in the lea
s tourname
as good for. once the Dostseason be- lei
an: absolutely nothing. ar
Obviously Kentucky did something
ist year to regroup after its infamous
enior Day loss. The Wildcats went to ^1
temphis, won the conference title, then de
lade it all the way to the national fej
lampionship game.
"It's a loss we can learn from as we
o into the tournament," Mckie said.
Maybe we'll meet Kentucky again in us
le tournament." G;
In USC, Mckie says he sees a team w]
;hat has the potential to win the tourament
championship."
So if the Gamecocks have to go up
gainst the Wildcats again, the results 0 ^
robably won't be much different. But er
SEC Tour
facts and
ports editor ACHIM HUNT ye
In its first five trips to the SEC M
'ournament, Carolina was seeded no
ligher than fifth in the Eastern Divi- cc
ion and had won a first round game
nly once (1994 vs. Ole Miss). m
But the Gamecocks have received
i first-round bye in each of the last two P'
easons: last year after winning the p<
5EC Championship and this season afer
finishing second in the East behind
>EC Champion Kentucky. *e
The Gamecocks automatically ad- S1
fance into the quarterfinals for just the C
hird time in seven years and with a ol
ictory will play in semifinal action for
ust the second time ever.
T
Carolina is 3-6 overall in SEC Tourlament
action all-time.
Carolina has played in four diferent
league tournaments over the tc
s that the Gamecocks have earned
ind bye in the SEC Tournament for
id consecutive year. USC earned the
reeks ago; and prior to last year, Carer
had been seeded higher than fifth
igue tournament.
Page 5
' to none
BRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecock
ie winner of the Florida/Auburn
gue in blocks.
lit repeat
;'s see the Gamecocks for what they
e, or aren't.
They're not streaky, like last year,
ley're consistent. They play good
fense. They're well-coached. They're
arless on the road.
No, there are no guarantees. Last
ar proved that. But something tells
i this year will be different, that the
amecocks will be game no matter
hat, or where.
Something tells us that this
me, USC will be on the winning end
some March Madness before it all
ids in San Antonio.
nament
figures
;ars including the Southern, ACC,
'etro, and SEC classics.
In those tournaments the Gameicks
are 28-48 in conference tournaent,
with two championships (1993
outhern, 1971 ACC), three secondlace
finishes, and 15 semifinal apirances.
Carolina has not played in a conrence
tournament championship game
nee a 52-51 win in the 1971 ACC
hampionship game against North Carina.
This will be the fourth SEC
ournament held in Atlanta, and the
jcond at the Georgia Dome.
The last time in Atlanta USC lost
> Auburn in the first round.