Connor Tapp of SB Nation's South Carolina site Garnet and Black Attack summarized the Gamecocks' 73-58 win over Cal State - Northridge in the first round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament today.
The Gamecocks gained their advantage with excellent interior play on both ends of the court but gave away all but four points of their lead when their hot shooting cooled and they stopped dominating the offensive and defensive glass...Any time the ball found its way to Coates in the paint, the Irmo, S.C. native was either coming away with two points or going to the free throw line, it seemed. In fact, South Carolina's ability to get to the charity stripe (42 free throw attempts) as a team while preventing the Matadors' from getting there themselves (15 free throw attempts) was likely the deciding factor in the game.
In the second round, the Gamecocks will face #9 Oregon State, which beat Middle Tennessee by an even more convincing score of 55-36.
For more on South Carolina, be sure to visit Garnet and Black Attack's women's basketball section. For more on the rest of that region, check out our Stanford region storystream.