The Lady Gamecocks look to start the NCAA tournament hot with a big win on Sunday over Mercer.
Having not played in 14 days, the Lady Gamecocks look to take on the Mercer Bears in the round of 64 in the NCAA tournament. The Bears, coming off a 3 game streak to win the SOCON tournament, will play their 3rd SEC opponent of the year, dropping two early season matchups hosting Georgia and Alabama.
The Gamecocks come in after winning 3 consecutive in the SEC tournament, boosting their stock up to a 1 seed. After losing the SEC regular season championship vs Texas A&M, the Lady Gamecocks got hot at the right time, rattling off 3 straight, and making a strong statement that they were a number 1 seed.
Mercer comes in with a record of 19-6, with a 10-3 record in conference. Although these look good, the Bears have struggled against power 6 teams, going 0-3 and losing by an average of 16 points per game. Things will have to change to have a chance at an upset on Sunday evening.
On the flip side, the Lady Gamecocks are 4-0 against non power 6 teams, beat these opponents by an average of 40 points. They have not struggled vs these teams as if almost always results in a blowout for the opposing team
To win, the Bears will need production from all 5 players on the court, Lead by Junior Guard Amoria Neal-Tysor, an electric player who has lead the bears in the SOCON tournament with 2 20+ point performances, as well as 6 rebounds. They will also look for junior Forward Jaron Dougherty to get going, as she averages almost 10 rebounds per game, and has gone for double digits in 4 of her last 5 games.
For the Gamecocks, it’s get back to same formula, Feature your best players. Sophomore Forward Aliyah Boston. Boston has averaged a double double in her second year in Columbia, and has put herself in position as a finalist for the Wooden award. She also averages 2.8 blocks per game, top 10 in the nation.
As far as this game goes, the bears will need more then a miracle to pull this one out. If we see the dynasty of the Gamecocks lose to the Mercer Bears on Sunday evening, us Gamecock fans might as well burn down Colonial Life Arena.
That being said, we predict the Gamecocks to come out hot and destroy Mercer the second the ball enters the court. We have The Lady Gamecocks winning big, 86-48.