COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (31-1) earned a No. 1 seed in its 13th berth in the NCAA Tournament and will face 16th-seeded Jacksonville (22-10) on Fri., March 18, at 7:30 p.m. ET, with the contest set to be televised on ESPN2 in the event’s opening round. The Gamecocks are in the Sioux Falls Region and will host the first and second rounds of the tournament at Colonial Life Arena. The other first-round game in Columbia pairs eighth-seeded George Washington (26-6) and No. 9 seed Kansas State (18-12) on Fri., March 18 at 5 p.m. ET.
Single-session tickets for the first and second rounds will go on sale at 10 a.m. Tue., March 15. Reserved seating in the lower bowl has sold out, but general admission seating is available for $15 (adult) for the first round (both games) and $12 (adult) for the second round. Youth, University faculty/staff and group pricing is also available. Booklets for the entire weekend are available for $23 and include a general admission ticket for each round. Purchase ticket booklets by calling 1-800-4SC-FANS, visiting the Colonial Life Arena box office during regular business hours or going online at GamecocksOnline.com. Single-sessions tickets are available at TicketMaster.com.
This is the fifth-consecutive season the Gamecocks will participate in the NCAA Tournament, the longest streak in program history. South Carolina reached the NCAA Final Four for the first time in 2015 and has advanced to the Sweet 16 two other times in the last four appearances (2014, 2012). The Gamecocks have played in six Sweet 16s in their 12 previous appearances in the event. South Carolina owns a 17-12 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including a 7-2 record in games played in Columbia.
This season, the No. 3/2 Gamecocks won their third-straight regular-season championship by posting just the second 16-0 SEC record in league history. They continued their unbeaten streak with a three-game run to the SEC Tournament championship, marking the second-straight season South Carolina won both the regular-season and tournament titles. This is the third-straight season the Gamecocks have earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
