After having a successful Senior Day last Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs 92-78, the Tigers finished their regular season with a 13-5 conference record and a 24-7 record overall. The Tigers secured a double bye and the four-seed in the SEC tTournament and now will play five-seeded South Carolina in the quarterfinals this Friday.
South Carolina is coming off a big win against Arkansas in the second round on Thursday 80-66. Collin Murray-Boyles and B.J. Mack combined for 43 points and 16 rebounds, as the forwards dominated play in the paint. Even though the Gamecocks only hit three 3-pointers in the game, their aggressiveness to the rim and rebounding were the main factors to their victory.
The Gamecocks also finished their regular season with a 13-5 conference record and a 25-6 record overall. The Tigers destroyed South Carolina in the Jungle 101-61 earlier this season in February, but it won’t stop the Gamecocks from potentially pulling off the upset and advancing to the semifinals. Of course, it’s not in the Jungle, so the orange and blue will have to come prepared for battle away from home.
Head coach Bruce Pearl knew this team would give the best impression all season for the SEC Tournament, and he praises his players for their hard work.
“I thought this team could be good. I thought this team would be good with a chance to be very good,” Pearl said. “So they’ve exceeded my expectations a little bit. Instead, this was a team that was very good with a chance to be great. And the reason for that are the players. Period.”
If the Tigers win their quarterfinal matchup, they will move on to the semifinals on Saturday to face either Tennessee or Mississippi State.
The top-seeded Volunteers were the SEC regular season champions this season, finishing 14-4 in the conference and 24-7 overall. Dalton Knecht and the Volunteers put the hurt on the Tigers 92-84 earlier this season in Knoxville. Knecht is also one of the frontrunners to win the Naismith award this season.
Nine-seeded Mississippi State will need to upset the Volunteers if the Bulldogs want to possibly face off against Auburn in the semifinals on Saturday, as they pulled out the victory against LSU on Thursday 70-60. The Bulldogs finished their regular season with an 8-10 conference record and a 19-12 record overall, beating Auburn once this season in Starkville 64-57 while eventually falling to the Tigers in the Jungle later in the season 78-63.
If Auburn wants to beat the Gamecocks again and make an SEC championship run, it needs its players to show up and show out every game. Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams will be the main contributors in the paint, while Aden Holloway, Denver Jones and KD Johnson will have to hit their shots for success. The Tigers will go into the SEC Tournament nearly fully healthy, only having Lior Berman out with an ACL injury which was suffered earlier this month against Mississippi State.
The Tigers will play South Carolina in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals this Friday at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.
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Albert Osorio is a senior from Hoover, Alabama, who is majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2024.
