NCAAB: #11 Oregon vs #6 South Carolina Odds, and Picks (Mar 21)

• Oregon completed a stellar run in the Pac-12 tournament, earning an automatic bid.
• South Carolina posted a 26-7 record, their best result since the 1996-1997 season.
• This will be the very first matchup between these two teams in their program history.

The NCAA Tournament is officially underway! Let’s take a look at this matchup between the Oregon Ducks and the South Carolina Gamecocks. Oregon is riding the momentum of their Pac-12 championship, but will face the underseeded Gamecocks.

How to Watch

• TNT

Preview

Oregon was never all that close to an at-large bid, despite posting a 12-8 conference record. They took matters out of the committee’s hands on Saturday, winning the Pac-12 title game and entering the tournament as an automatic bid. The Ducks are peaking at the right time and have an opportunity to turn their momentum into a trip to the Sweet 16. To start, they’ll need to get past a dangerous 26-7 South Carolina team.

South Carolina wound up landing as a 6-seed, after spending much of the past month as one of the most intriguing cases to seed. Their record of 26-7 is excellent, and they picked up some wins against top teams along the way. On the other hand, a few brutal blowout defeats tanked their metrics. The Gamecocks are a sleeper candidate to make the Final Four if they can hold off the surging Ducks in this game.

Prediction

This should be an excellent game featuring two teams that flew under the radar for much of the season. The Ducks are finally realizing their potential, but still face an uphill battle. South Carolina’s balanced play style may wear them down late in the game. They’ll need leading scorer Meechie Johnson to bounce back from poor performances in the SEC tournament, where he scored just 4.5 ppg. If he does, South Carolina should win this one.

NCAAB Picks:

• South Carolina 84, Oregon 77 (SC -1.5)