South Carolina takes on Baylor in the Sweet 16

There are four teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament that are higher than a 4-seed, and the South Carolina Gamecocks are one of them.

Who: 3-seed Baylor vs. 7-seed South Carolina

When: Friday, March 24 at 7:29 EST on TBS

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

While Xavier and Wisconsin are the two lowest seeds remaining in the Sweet 16, South Carolina has become the darling of the tournament after upsetting the 2-seed Duke.

If you need any more evidence, Frank Martin was on Good Morning America, for crying out loud. And I don’t think it was because of his bubbly personality.

When South Carolina beat Marquette in the first round, it was the Gamecocks’ first tournament victory since 1973, and they had so much fun, they decided to do out again against the Blue Devils.

And they might not be done yet.

The Gamecocks now shift their focus to the Baylor Bears. Baylor went 27-7 this season and back in January were ranked no. 1 for the first time in program history.

The winner of this game will take on the winner of 4-seed Florida and 8-seed Wisconsin.

What you need to know about the Baylor Bears

Scott Drew is in his 14th season in Waco, Tex., and this might be the best team he’s had yet. After losing in the first round of each of the last two tournaments, Baylor finds themselves in the Sweet 16 for the third time under Drew.

This team has plenty of size and plays excellent defense.

The Bears rank rank 20th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 63.5 points per game. They also rank 23rd in the nation in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 40.4 percent from the field.

Baylor also ranks 2nd in the country with a +9.1 in rebounding margin.

Johnathan Motley is a stud. At 6’10, 230 pounds, Motley was one of three unanimous selections to the first team All-Big 12. He led the conference in rebounding and was fourth in the conference in scoring. Motley averaged 17.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.1 blocks this season.

And he’s come to play in the NCAA Tournament. Motley has recorded a double-double in each of the first two games, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 62 percent from the field.

Manu Lecomte was named Big 12 newcomer of the year after transferring from Miami. The 5’11 (which might be generous) Belgian averaged 12.3 points, 3.9 assists, and shot 41 percent on threes this season.

Baylor had two players named to the Big 12 All-Defensive team in Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Ishmail Wainright. Lual-Acuil Jr. led the Big 12 with 2.5 blocks per game, while Wainright was tied for fifth in the Big 12 with 1.7 steals per game.

The Gamecocks’ scoring numbers are very similar to the Bears. They average 73.1 points per game, while allowing 65.2, which is 32nd in the country in scoring defense.

In their first two tournament games, South Carolina is averaging 59.5 points in the second half while shooting 63 percent from the field.

If the Gamecocks can continue those second half performances, this run could keep going to the Elite 8.