No. 7 South Carolina vs No. 10 Marquette preview: Game time, broadcast, betting line, prediction

The No. 7 seed South Carolina Gamecocks (22-10) take on the No. 10 seed Marquette Golden Eagles (19-12) in the first round of the East Region. The game will be played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville on Friday. Tip is at 9:50 p.m. E.T.

Preview: The Gamecocks finished third in the SEC led by conference Player of the Year Sindarius Thornwell (21.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.8 apg).

This is their first NCAA appearance in 13 years and they even have special shoes for the occasion.

Marquette was one of seven Big East schools to make the Big Dance. Five players score in double-digits for the Golden Eagles, led by freshman guard Markus Howard (13.2 ppg).

You can check out the entire NCAA Tournament bracket here. You can also see how the committee ranked the teams 1-68 here.

Date: Friday, March 17

Time: 9:50 p.m. E.T.

TV Channel: TBS

Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.

Announcers: Brian Anderson, Chris Webber, Lewis Johnson

Opening Betting Line: South Carolina – 1.5, via OddsShark

This is South Carolina's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and the first one in 13 years. Back in 2004, they were a 10-seed and lost to No. 7 seed Memphis

Marquette has been to 31 previous tournaments, the last one coming in 2013 when they advanced to the Elite Eight.

Prediction: In a tight game like this one, we will go with the team that has the best player. That is South Carolina.

Led by Thornwell, the Gamecocks move on.

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