South Carolina Gamecocks

A quick look at South Carolina-Marquette in the NCAA tourney

Published Mar. 16, 2017 4:14 p.m. ET

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) No. 7 South Carolina (22-10) vs. No. 10 Marquette (19-12)

First round, East region; Greenville, South Carolina; 9:50 p.m.

BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina, which hadn't been to the NCAA Tournament in 13 years, has not won a tourney game in 44 years. The Gamecocks' last victory came in 1973 with a roster that feature NBA Hall of Famer Alex English and longtime pro Brian Winters. While Marquette had missed the previous three NCAAs, the Golden Eagles are 5-8 in tournament play since South Carolina's last appearance in 2004.

COACH K REUNION? Former Duke player and assistant coach Steve Wojciechowski is Marquette's head coach. If the Golden Eagles win their open and second-seeded Duke gets past 15th-seeded Troy, it will mark the first time Wojciechowski will face his college coach and mentor.

THORNWELL TIME: If South Carolina hopes to advance, it'll need a big game from senior guard Sindarius Thornwell. Thornwell, voted the Southeastern Conference player of the year by league coaches, leads the Gamecocks in scoring (21 points) and rebounding (7.2 boards) a game. When Thornwell is off, so are the Gamecocks. Thornwell shot just 5 of 12 in South Carolina's last game, a 64-53 loss to Alabama in its opening SEC Tournament game last week.

DID YOU KNOW: Marquette senior Katin Reinhardt has been part of three different NCAA Tournament teams. He has gone to the NCAA Tournament with UNLV (2013), Southern Cal (2016) and now with the Golden Eagles.

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