Sweet 16: Baylor and South Carolina In Surpise Matchup

Baylor had Easy Road to Sweet 16

The fans at Madison Square Garden will the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Baylor Bears in their Sweet Sixteen matchup on Friday. Baylor only had to defeat the 14th seeded New Mexico State Lobos and 11th seeded USC Trojans to reach the Sweet 16. Don't let that fool you, as the Bears are battled tested this season. Their resume includes victories over three teams that are still alive in this tournament (Oregon, Xavier and West Virginia), and the Bears were the top-ranked team in the Nation in January. They had reeled off 15 straight wins at the time.

Oddsmakers opened the Bears as -3.5-point favorites versus the Gamecocks, while the game's total opened at 137.

Baylor won its last outing, a 82-78 win the NCAA Tournament 2nd round against the USC Trojans on March 19. They failed to cover in that game as a -5.5-point favorite. Johnathan Motley is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament, which falls right in line with his season numbers.

South Carolina won its last outing, a 88-81 win against the Duke Blue Devils in the Round of 32. They covered in that game as a +6.5-point underdog. South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell scored 24 to lead the Gamecocks against Duke. Guard Duane Notice and forward Chris Silva each added 17.

Sweet 16 Betting Trends

South Carolina:
Team record: 24-10 SU,14-18 ATS
South Carolina is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games
South Carolina is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
South Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Baylor

Baylor:
Team record: 27-7 SU,15-16 ATS
Baylor is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games
Baylor is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Baylor's last 6 games

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