What many thought to be a cute story has turned out to be one of the best teams in the SEC and a legitimate conference title contender. 

The South Carolina Gamecocks sit just one game out of 1st place in the SEC and are not showing signs of slowing down any time soon. They are 6-2 in the SEC and 18-3 overall with 2 of their 3 losses coming to teams currently projected to make the NCAA tournament. They have 2 victories against top 10 opponents and are on fire as the season is heading into the final stretch before tournament play begins.

That said, just how far can South Carolina go in the NCAA tournament?

Barring a complete disaster, the Gamecocks are a solid lock for March Madness, and I think their floor in the tournament is a trip to the sweet 16 (second weekend). 

I have been an avid fan of the NCAA tournament my entire life, and the thing that I have observed year after year is specific stats don’t matter a ton in March; What you did from November through the end of the year might affect your seed, but it has no bearing on what will happen once the tournament starts. 

That said, there are some characteristics that differentiate the teams that tend to struggle and the teams that succeed. Teams that are over reliant on one side of the ball, offense or defense or only have one way of scoring on offense are usually bounced quickly from the big dance. In other words, you need balance between your offense and defense and diversity within your offensive attack. That’s why I like the Gamecocks’ chances of making a run in the tournament.

Defensively, they do a great job of bringing the intensity without fouling which is a frustrating style to play against. They surrender nothing easy to their opponent and have been able to control the pace of the game to their liking. I think this is one of their biggest keys to making a deep run. If they can continue to take control of the game through their defense, they will be a hard out.

Offensively, they have a viable interior presence in BJ Mack but the Gamecocks also have 3 guards who are scoring in double figures, including 2 who are shooting over 40% from 3; Mack can also extend out to the 3 point line which helps open the floor for everyone to attack which is why I consider him their most important player.

Sticking with the offense, I like how no one on their team forces the issue; we have all witnessed what happens to a team when a normally reliable scorer is having an off night and turns into a high volume shooter. The offense lacks rhythm and everyone else seems to struggle. South Carolina has clearly defined roles for each player which prevents that from happening and helps to keep them in character on the offensive side of the ball. 

All of this said, I believe the Gamecocks have what it takes to make at least the Sweet 16. They feature the balance on both sides of the ball as well as offensive diversity which most successful tournament teams do. Combine this with the poise with which they play, and they have the composition of a team bound for a strong run in March. 

While team composition and on-court play has a LOT to do with a team’s tournament run potential, so does their seed.

Prior to beating Tennessee, the Gamecocks were projected to an 8 seed. This projection will likely take a large jump as they’re playing their way to at least a 5-6 seed. They control their destiny; as long as they take care of their business and keep racking up the wins and avoid a catastrophic loss (ie to Vandy), they will likely secure a top 5 seed in their region and have a more favorable path for a deep run in the tournament beyond the Sweet 16.