COLUMBIA — South Carolina left for the SEC Tournament feeling confident about its chances of making the NCAA bracket for the first time in a dozen seasons. The Gamecocks returned home squarely on the bubble.
USC’s quarterfinal loss to Georgia in Nashville, Tenn., on Friday night has thrust the Gamecocks’ NCAA hopes into jeopardy, if a pair of prominent tournament forecasters are to be believed. One now has the Gamecocks in the First Four, while another has them missing the event altogether.
It all promises to make for an unexpectedly nervous Selection Sunday for South Carolina (24-8), which along with other NCAA Tournament hopefuls will learn its fate when the 68-team field is unveiled beginning at 5:30 p.