Matchup we've been waiting for.

But for some reason, I see that one bad game coming. Too much talk about running the table.

Went fishing this morning in his kayak and has not returned or been found.

Clemson played good defense last night. On to the Elite 8.

Brownell is going from his job being questionable in terms of him getting an extension or being retained to possibly being a target of other programs. They are sort of fun to watch as they play defense really hard.

Alabama and Clemson should be a fun game.

Gamecocks will attempt to knot the series up today after a tough loss last night.

Lineup:

ALBANY, N.Y. — So, the Gamecocks survive. After letting a 22-point lead slip all the way down to two, South Carolina came up with a 79-75 win over Indiana in the Sweet 16 at MVP Arena in Albanay to advance to the Elite Eight. Gamecocks will play Oregon State on Sunday afternoon for a spot in the Final Four, but have a lot to clean up on following this one.

Here's what I was able to gather from players in open locker room today:

Te-Hina Paopao:​

On her thoughts when Raven shot the crucial late 3-pointer, the biggest shot of the night:
"I was really happy when she let it go. She's been working on that, and I'm just really happy she had the confidence to shoot it and knock it down. I'm just really proud of her for doing that. When she's in rhythm, she's going to make it."

On the play originally being designed for Kamilla:
"Kamilla is a really good passer. She's underrated for that. She found the open person and Raven knocked it down."

On what the problems were offensively when IU came back:
"I didn't think we moved the ball as well as we usually do. We didn't really share the ball. But I thought we did a really good job executing plays to get the ball to Kamilla, and I'm just really glad she was able to execute it."

On the mentality going forward:
"The response is we made it to Sunday. The response is hey, we don't want to feel like that ever again. We felt like that during the Tennessee game, and we all know what happened after the Tennessee game. I would say we went on a winning streak, but we've been winning all year. But our last couple games after Tennessee we played our best basketball, so hopefully we can play our best basketball in the next few days as well."

On what Dawn said in the timeout before the Raven 3:
Get the ball to Kamilla, and Kamilla if you get double-teamed find the open person. We had felt like that before, so we were composed, we were calm, so we weren't really in a rush. We weren't jittery, we've been here before."

Tessa Johnson:​

On her thoughts when Raven took the shot:
"I trusted it. I was like, 'Come on Raven. You do you, girl.'"

On what changed in the second half:
"I think in the first quarter we were getting more second chances, and we weren't this time. I can blame it on myself too because I need to go rebound. But I would say the ball was sticking too much."

On mentality going forward:
"We learn from our mistakes, but obviously the next game is in two days so we have to move on from it fast. But we have to take what we can and again learn from it and scout Oregon State."

Ashlyn Watkins:​

On her thoughts when Raven let the shot go:
"I hoped it went in, but if it didn't I was going to get the rebound."

On Raven's mentality late:
"Confident. Just making sure that we aren't all over our heads or like down. She just keeps us level-headed, to be honest."

On if a game like that can be good for them:
"A little bit, but teams aren't going to just let us beat them. Indiana is a very good team, and they showed that today. They weren't just going to let us take them down."

On what happened in the second half:
"I saw that they wanted it. They were like, 'We can get in this game.' They just wanted it, but we had to keep our composure and be like, 'Let's finish this game.'"

MiLaysia Fulwiley:​

On her thoughts when Raven shot it:
"Green light. I knew she was capable of hitting the shot. That was our last play against Tennessee before I fouled Jewel [Spear]. That was the same pass, same set, same pass to Raven for the 3, and I knew she wasn't going to miss two times in a row. I know Raven is capable of hitting that shot. I know she's a great shooter. She's been in the gym a lot. She spends hours in the gym, she's one of the last ones almost every day. I'm proud of her and proud of all the work she's putting in that's finally coming to light, and proud of what she did for this team today."

ALBANY, N.Y. — Checking in from the MVP Arena in downtown Albany, where South Carolina women's basketball will try to take the next step towards a National Championship today. Gamecocks take on Indiana at roughly 5:00 p.m., although it might be a little later since it's technically 30 minutes after the 2:30 Oregon State-Notre Dame game ends.

Live updates to follow all day.

Can South Carolina baseball keep the momentum going? They've won six in a row overall and four straight in SEC play, but now have to take this show on the road starting a three-game series in Tuscaloosa against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

First pitch is at 8 p.m. on SEC Network. Here is South Carolina's lineup:

Parker Noland - 2B
Cole Messina - C
Kennedy Jones - DH
Ethan Petry - RF
Talmadge LeCroy - 3B
Blake Jackson - LF
Dylan Brewer - CF
Gavin Casas - 1B
Will Tippett - SS

Eli Jones - Pitcher

Nm

ALBANY, N.Y. — Te-Hina Paopao and Chloe Kitts were at the podium and of course the locker room was mobbed with national reporters, but here are some notes from inside the locker room in Albany the day before the Gamecocks take on the Hoosiers in the sweet 16:

Tessa Johnson:​

​

On facing two players (Sara Scalia and Lilly Meister) from her home state:
"It's very cool because I know them. It's going to be fun playing against them. It's competition on the court, friends off the court."

On if she faced Meister:
"Not high school, I played against her in AAU. Sara would come to our practices and play against us, too."

On where she's grown this year:
"From the first game in Paris I'd say the most I've grown is defensively. I thought I was ready in that Paris game defensively, but I was not. I did not chase any screens on shooters. But now I will chase over my screens."

On Indiana:
"I don't know who they remind me of playing, but I know most of them can shoot. Probably all of them can shoot. We just have to watch out for that."

Bonus quotes from Indiana's Meister on this:
"I definitely have played against her a couple times in AAU, but I haven't had too many personal conversations with her. But she's really good. She's just an overall great player. She's a leader, she has a great shot, great ball-handling, she's kind of got it all."

"I think it's really fun. I always tell people every game I watch I go, 'Oh, that player's from Minnesota.' I just think it's so fun."

Sania Feagin:​

On comparing Indiana's Mackenzie Holmes to Utah's Alissa Pilli:
"I see that. SHe has some excellent footwork. HEr footwork is amazing, and you expect the unexpected with anybody. She plays very hard."

On Indiana's challenge:
"Just stay ready, be ready for everything. It's a Big Ten team. You know they'll play physical, play hard, so just stay ready for anything."

Says she feels "a little different" than she did this time last tournament because of her increased playing team.

"It feels good to be able to experience it playing and just having fun with the team."

Ashlyn Watkins:​

​

On Indiana:
"What sticks out about them is they're always moving. They're an active team. We've got to be ready for that. We've got to do our work early with their big, because they go through them a lot. We've got to worry about that really."

On comparing Holmes to Pilli:
"For sure, I feel like they have more of the same footwork."

On comparing this year to last year:
"It feels a little bit different. It's a bit different now that I"m playing, because I contribute to the game. It means more this year."

ALBANY, N.Y. — Hearing from Dawn Staley to preview the Sweet 16 match-up against the Indiana Hoosiers shortly (although I suspect she'll get plenty of other questions unrelated to the game from the gathered national media here).

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Ryan Montgomery has locked in official visits with South Carolina, Florida and Georgia. However, I'm not sure we even get that far before he's committed. Think there is a chance this wraps up in the spring for coach Beamer and company.

Gamecocks taking on Presbyterian tonight for a midweek trying to extend the winning streak to six. Here's the lineup Mark Kingston is going with:

Parker Noland - 2B
Cole Messina - DH
Kennedy Jones - LF
Ethan Petry - RF
Tyler Causey - 1B
Talmadge LeCroy - 3B
Blake Jackson - CF
Dalton Reeves - C
Will Tippett - SS

Eddie Copper - Pitcher

Trajen Odom, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound strongside defensive end of Weddington High School in Matthews, NC, reported an offer from third-year head coach Shane Beamer's South Carolina program on Monday.

"I was happy about receiving the offer. It's one that I've been waiting on for awhile. They have good things cooking over there and are building a good front and entire defense," he said.

This year, Odom has visited Florida State, Oregon, Alabama and Georgia. He plans official visits to Oregon (June 14-16) and USC (June 21-23) and additional visits to Ohio State, Duke, UCLA and North Carolina this spring and summer.
He has over 30 offers and plays alongside big-name teammates Thomas Davis Jr., the son of NFL legend Thomas Davis, and twin defensive line duo Aiden Harris and Andrew Harris, all three cousins which have also tendered an offer from Coach Clayton White's defense.

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Background on Trajen Odom: https://colorado.rivals.com/news/trajen-odom-has-colorado-on-his-long-list-of-spring-visits

Background on South Carolina's offer to Aiden Harris, Thomas Davis Jr:

eom

Looks like SEC basketball may have been overrated?? SC, Miss st and KY all go down in first round!!

Good start to series.

Didn't get around to every player, and MiLaysia Fulwiley and Tessa Johnson were at the podium, but got to five of the other eight. Here's what they said after the Gamecocks thumped the Tar Heels 88-41 to advance to the Sweet 16:

Sakima Walker:​

On if she's ever been a part of anything like the first half (South Carolina outscored UNC 56-19 and went on a 43-6 run):
"No, it was actually pretty exciting. It was pretty good to watch. I felt like we really couldn't miss from the 3-point line, we were shooting 80 percent from beyond the arc. It was just really nice to see."

On if that's the best they've played in awhile:
"I felt like it was. A lot of shots were falling for us. I think we moved the ball really, really well, and that's something she's [Dawn Staley] really been emphasizing is getting a lot of ball reverals and touches because we get better shots with us. Just playing unselfish and playing together, I think it looked good for us and it showed out there tonight."

On if there was any extra chip on the shoulder after the first UNC game:
"No, not really, we just knew it was a close game last time we played them at home. We felt like they had an advantage because they were at home and they had their own crowd, so just being here and having all of our fans here to support us, we just came in knowing the game was going to be just as intense as when we played there. We just came in focused, locked in, knowing our personnel and knowing we had together. It was going to be a physical game, and I think we met the moment. We came out with the same physicality, and I think it worked in our favor."

Ashlyn Watkins:​

Joking about Albany:
"I've been to New York before....where's Albany?"

On if she's been a part of a first half like that:
"Yeah, at the beginning of the season I think that was all we did. We were stepping on people's necks, coming out and throwing the first punch, and that was what we did today."

On if the first half today reminded them of that early season team:
"It reminded us that this is what we do. This is our team, we have to do that every single game. We can't let up, we can't underestimate anybody."

On the home winning streak, which is now at 59:
"Our fans, they cheer for us whether it's bad or good, they're always going to cheer for us. I think that gives us a little bit of motivation and a little bit of an advantage on our opponents."

On what Kamilla Cardoso has meant to her:
"She means a lot to me. She's a big asset to this team, but she's also a great person off the team. She's so sweet, and she really does mean a lot to me."

Sania Feagin:​

Says she's never been to Albany before.

On if she's ever been a part of a first half like that:
"No actually it was so exciting. It was very fun to watch and to be a part of, so I mean it was really enjoyable."

On what allowed the run to happen:
"I just feel like everybody came ready to play. Everybody was ready to take their game to the next level, and I feel like we did just that."

On if there was any thoughts about the November game:
"I don't think we did."

On the 3-point shooting:
"Way to shoot the ball I just love it. We tell them all the time that they can shoot the ball, shoot it. If you feel like it's a good shot, shoot it."

Te-Hina Paopao:​

Said she has been to the state of New York, but never Albany.

On if she's ever been a part of a first half like that:
"No, absolutely not. I think everyone was just really happy with how we were playing. We just need to be locked in on both ends of the court, because that's what did us a favor in the first half. It was just a great day, and we really want to keep riding this wave because we all love this feeling."

I told Paopao they went on a 30-2 run while asking a question about the first half run and she didn't know. prompting....

"Everyone keeps telling me these stats and it's like a genuine shock. I also heard we had 51 points off the bench and I was really shocked. All year we've been talking about our bench. Just to see them shine so bright in this spotlight and getting the attention they deserve is a great sight to see and their confidence is definitely going to boost. I'm really proud of that, because we're definitely going to need them in the long run."

On what she told Tessa yesterday:
"Just keep being who she is. You've got to shoot the ball. We've got to have her shoot the ball. She knows that we know that we want her to shoot the ball, so her shooting the ball is going to do us a favor. When she doesn't shoot the ball, it's not in our favor. We just kept telling her to shoot even though she had a bad shooting night, everyone has those. Just keep shooting, and that's what she did today, and I'm really proud of her for doing that."

Bree Hall:​

Also said she's never been to Albany.

On if she's never been part of a first half like the one today:
"No, this is a once in a lifetime team."

On why the team is so unique:
"I think it's the talent all across the board that makes it so unique. From head to toe everybody is just completely talented, everybody has their own thing that they bring to the table."

Said she "felt great" physically today, nothing lingering from the injury which kept her out of Friday's game.

Gamecocks will attempt to complete the sweep.

Tyler Pitzer will get his first career start after several excellent relief outings this season.

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