BRACKETOLOGY UPDATE: South Carolina Continues To Climb Up Seed Lines

South Carolina's men's basketball team continues to rise in the bracket projections of several notable bracketologists.

Lamont Paris and the South Carolina Gamecocks are beginning to earn the national respect that the players, and to a large extent the fanbase, have been craving for several weeks now. Currently amidst a five-game winning streak that's spanned the past two and a half weeks, including victories over then-No. 6 Kentucky and then-No. 5 Tennessee, Carolina found themselves ranked in both the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches polls on Monday afternoon.

Meechie Johnson celebrating at the end of the Gamecocks matchup vs. Georgia (3rd Feb., 2024) / Dale Zanine | USA Today Network

While seeing a number next to South Carolina during game previews and broadcasts will bring great joy to Gamecock fans everywhere, it's important to remember that the NCAA Tournament selection committee doesn't just look at rankings when deciding where teams are slotted in March. Helpful? Likely, but the end all be all? Not necessarily.

That's where quality metrics like the NET rankings come into play, and with the Gamecocks stacking up wins over widely respected opponents, bracketologists, much like poll voters, are beginning to push the Gamecocks higher up on their seed lines.

CBS Sports Bracketologist Jerry Palm moved South Carolina up from a No. 4 seed to a No. 3 seed (12th overall) after their gritty road win over Georgia this past Saturday. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Gamecocks as a No. 7-seed (28th overall), but now has them as a No. 6-seed (22nd Overall) after back-to-back SEC road wins. Bleacher Report bracketologist Andy Katz has South Carolina as a No. 5 seed (20th overall) in his bracket and said on his recent show that if they can continue to take care of business, they could leap up to a No. 4 seed.

There are still a lot of games left to be played, so admittedly, these projections should be taken with a grain of salt, but the fact Gamecock fans can even have this discussion is probably already fulfilling enough.

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