NASHVILLE ― South Carolina basketball coach Lamont Paris gave his head an exasperated shake late in the first half, as yet another Auburn jump shot found the bottom of the net.
He’d seen the Tigers blitz his Gamecocks like this before. And much like last time, it was quickly apparent that the result would be ugly.
Auburn eliminated South Carolina from the 2024 SEC Tournament quarterfinals 86-55 on Friday at Bridgestone Arena. It marked the second time since the beginning of February that the Gamecocks (26-7) had taken a thrashing from the Tigers, who won 101-61 in Auburn (25-7) during the regular season.
The lopsided loss represents a true missed opportunity for the Gamecocks.
Mississippi State blew the door to the SEC Tournament championship wide open for South Carolina by upsetting top-seeded Tennessee before the Gamecocks took the court.
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By the time 20 minutes had ticked off the clock, Auburn had slammed it shut.
During his press conference after a win over Arkansas on Thursday, Paris said it would “be some real bad karma” for the Tigers to repeat their prolific shooting effort from the first meeting between the two teams.
The Tigers didn’t quite reach those heights ‒ but they weren’t far off, shooting 49.3% from the field and 47.4% from deep.
Auburn hung 46 first-half points on South Carolina, making 17 of 35 field-goal attempts.
That sent the Gamecocks into the locker room down 20. In the second half, the Tigers moved the show to the other end of the court, where they stifled South Carolina and erased any potential for a remarkable comeback.
The Gamecocks finished with 28.1% shooting from the field, comfortably their worst effort of the season.
BJ Mack led South Carolina with 14 points, but he did so by shooting an inefficient 3-of-12 from the field.
South Carolina can’t handle Auburn’s interior game
Auburn’s dominance was largely built in the painted area, where it outscored Paris’ team by 20.
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The catalyst for South Carolina’s demise near the rim was first-team All-SEC forward Johni Broome.
Auburn’s star finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, even stepping out to sink a pair of 3-pointers.
He was also partially responsible for a subpar afternoon from South Carolina freshman phenom Collin Murray-Boyles. With Broome ‒ a member of the SEC’s All-Defensive Team ‒ guarding him, Murray-Boyles failed to score in the double figures for just the second time since the beginning of February.
What’s next for South Carolina basketball
The Gamecocks will now await their March Madness destination and matchup.
Their first NCAA Tournament appearance since a 2017 Final Four run will be formalized during the Selection Show on Sunday (6 p.m. ET, CBS). Before Friday’s action, ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi had South Carolina listed as a No. 5 seed.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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First appeared on www.greenvilleonline.com