Revenge, redemption, rematch — Syracuse had heard it all since last Monday when its NCAA tournament draw was announced. On the forefront, the eighth-seeded Orange would open tournament play against Nebraska, a major-conference opponent and a 20-game winner.

But the way the Greensboro region aligned, a second-round matchup against No. 1 seed South Carolina couldn’t be ignored. Just four months earlier, the Orange fell to the then-top-ranked Gamecocks by four points after leading by 10 with seven minutes to go.

Eventually, SU did earn the rematch, but on Sunday it squandered its chance at rebuttal. The Orange (22-10, 11-5 Atlantic Coast) was obliterated by the Gamecocks (32-2, 15-1 Southeastern), 97-68, at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina. The defeat marks the second consecutive year SU’s season in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

“Early on we really wanted to get out and pressure, but we got down six fouls to one and there was nowhere to go from there,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “When one of your best players (Briana Day) is out of the game against one of the top interior teams in the country, you’re going to struggle.”

South Carolina began to pull its starters with seven minutes to go, and at one point led by as many as 31. The Gamecocks’ 97 points set the NCAA tournament single-game record for most points.

SU point guard Alexis Peterson scored 23 points for the Orange, which ties Kayla Alexander (2010-13) for the most points scored by an SU player in an NCAA tournament game. But the Orange had just three players in double digits compared to six South Carolina players scoring 12 points or more.

Peterson scored five early points for the Orange, but the Gamecocks went on a 9-2 run on the shoulders of Asia Dozier, who the Orange left wide open before she made her first three 3-point attempts. Day recorded two quick fouls, and was replaced by Bria Day just 3:50 in.

After an initial wave of shooting from the outside, the Gamecocks pounded the paint with 6-foot-4 center Alaina Coates and 6-foot forward Aleighsa Welch. The two combined for 20 first-half points as USC took a 53-25 lead into the break — a stretch during which five SU players had committed two or more fouls.

Hillsman said it was difficult for his team to play pressure defense when it kept committing fouls, and was forced to sit back unconventionally in its 2-3 zone.

“It was really tough to play that way,” Hillsman said. “It’s not what we do.”

The second half was just a formality, even though at one point the Orange cut its deficit to 20.

Since an SU-USC matchup became a possibility last Monday, it’s been talked about ad nauseam. It was the third question asked to Cornelia Fondren during her post-selection show media availability, the fourth question asked to Peterson, and Briana Day talked about it before she was even asked.

SU players answered questions with the typical “taking one game at a time” answer, but then commented on South Carolina anyway.

But Coates, speaking to reporters, also called it a redemption game — a chance to prove USC was more than four points better than Syracuse.

The Gamecocks proved that, and more.

“Revenge game, I never thought it was like that,” Hillsman said. “I just thought South Carolina was a very good basketball team we’d already played. And they won the game.”

Published on March 22, 2015 at 9:32 pm

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