• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
Pickin' Splinters

Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

  • Home
  • RIT
  • Red Wings
  • Amerks
  • High School
  • RWU

‘Cats, Gamecocks, Gators and Jayhawks head to Elite Eight

March 25, 2017 by Mike DeSanto Leave a Comment

South Carolina Gamecocks guard Rakym Felder (4) dives for a loose ball against Baylor Bears guard Manu Lecomte (20) during the second half in the semifinals of the East Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Madison Square Garden. (Photo: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

EAST REGION:

No. 7 SOUTH CAROLINA 70 No. 3 BAYLOR 50

NEW YORK, NY– Sindarius Thornwell had six points in an 18-0 run late in the first half for South Carolina, upsetting the Baylor Bears and sending the Gamecocks to the program’s first ever Elite Eight.

Thornwell topped the Gamecocks with 24 points and six rebounds. Johnathan Motley‘s 18 points and nine rebounds led the Bears.

South Carolina limited the Bears, shooting team at 47. 6 percent from the field (ranked 35th in the country), to 30.4 percent (17-56) from the field.

The Gamecocks moved to 25-10 and are set to take on Florida in the next round. The Bears’ season ended at 27-8.

No. 4 FLORIDA 84 No. 8 WISCONSIN 83 in OT

NEW YORK, NY– Chris Chiozza knocked down a game-winning three as time expired in overtime to give the Florida Gators the win over the Wisconsin Badgers, moving on to the Elite Eight.

KeVaughn Allen dropped 35 points for the Gators. Nigel Hayes put up 22 points and six rebounds for the Badgers.

The Badgers have been a disciplined team this season, tied for 23rd with 16.0 personal fouls per game, but committed 26 personal fouls against the Gators.

The Gators jumped to 27-8 and will move on to play South Carolina. The Badgers head home with a final record of 27-10.

SOUTH REGION:

No. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 92 No. 4 BUTLER 80

MEMPHIS, TN– Joel Berry II scored seven points during a 14-0 run by North Carolina mid-way through the first half, helping the Tar Heels beat the Butler Bulldogs and reach the Elite Eight. It will be the Tar Heels’ 26th appearance in the Elite Eight.

Justin Jackson led the Tar Heels with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Luke Maye provided a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) off the bench. Andrew Chrabascz scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out four assists for the Bulldogs.

UNC held the Bulldogs, ranked 87th in the nation (36.9 percent) from three-point range entering the game,  to 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Tar Heels improved to 30-7 and will take on Kentucky next. The Bulldogs ended the season at 25-9.

No. 2 KENTUCKY 86 No. 3 UCLA 75

MEMPHIS, TN– De’Aaron Fox netted 39 points, the most points for a freshman in NCAA tournament history, to help his Kentucky Wildcats defeat the UCLA Bruins and move on to the 33rd Elite Eight in program history.

Fox added four assists and three rebounds to his team-leading 39 points. Isaac Hamilton picked up 17 points and five rebounds for the Bruins.

The Wildcats, tied for 71st in the country with an average of 11.9 turnovers per game, committed just six miscues against the Bruins.

The Wildcats improved to 32-5 and will face North Carolina in their Elite Eight matchup. The Bruins finish the year at 31-5.

Filed Under: CBB, Pine Pieces Tagged With: Baylor Bears, Johnathan Motley, Kentucky Wildcats, UCLA Bruins

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Partner of USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties

Secondary Sidebar

Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in