Miami vs. South Carolina | 3 p.m. | ABC
Two conference tournament runners-up with very different résumés face off.
Eighth-seeded Miami was never expected to be a runner-up in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, just like No. 1 seed South Carolina was never expected to be a runner-up in the Southeastern Conference. The crucial difference, though, is why: The Hurricanes were underestimated while the Gamecocks were assumed to be invincible.
Now these two teams with parallel trajectories will compete. Miami will try to keep riding the same “no one believes in us” mentality that took them through the A.C.C. tournament and a double-digit first round win over South Florida. The Gamecocks will try to keep playing with ease in spite of the overwhelming expectations they and their fans have for the postseason — expectations that took a brutal blow in the SEC tournament.
Miami will try to once again draw on its depth to challenge the top overall seed. Ten different Hurricanes players scored on Friday, meaning even if they get into foul trouble trying to guard Aliyah Boston and Destanni Henderson, they should be able to tap a number of different players as backup. For its part, South Carolina will have to assert its dominance over a team that has recently racked up upset wins by playing fearless basketball.
Coach Dawn Staley recognized that the Gamecocks are facing a “very hot Miami team.”
“They’re stroking the ball pretty good, they’re sharing the ball, they’re linked up, they got players that can apply a lot of pressure to the ball and be disruptive,” she said on Saturday. “They’re playing extremely well, we have to somehow disrupt that.”
Remy Tumin contributed reporting.