TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 2018
SECTION B Prep Roundup
INSIDE
Wilson baseball sweeps twinbill
Scoreboard, 2B College Hoops, 4B
Page 3B
Women’s NCAA Tournament
Commentary
Wilson reflects on record-setting career BY GREG HADLEY
The (Columbia) State
DougFerguson AP Golf Writer
McIlroy as good as he already was AUSTIN, Texas ory McIlroy had his first Arnold Palmer moment before the tournament even started. He had just finished his proam round at Bay Hill and was about to walk out of the tunnel leading from the 18th green when a man asked him for a picture. McIlroy obliged, because he usually does. But this was different. The man handed him a black bolero hat and told McIlroy it was from his squadron when he served in Vietnam. He didn’t want a selfie with McIlroy. He wanted a picture of McIlroy wearing the hat that meant so much to him. The hat looked awkward on him with golfing attire, but McIlroy didn’t mind. It’s all about giving the fans what they want. Then the 28-year-old from Northern Ireland gave them something even better with what McIlroy described as a “perfect round of golf,” certainly the closing stretch. He birdied five of the last six holes, capping it off with a 25-foot putt on the 18th hole to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. That ended his longest drought without a victory in eight years, and it cast him in a new light with the Masters approaching. McIlroy had fallen to No. 13 in the world when he missed the cut the previous week at the Valspar Championship, his second missed cut in four PGA Tour events this year. He had not been that low in the ranking since April 25, 2010. It’s not that he was forgotten; rather, attention was shifting to so many others that it was easy to feel overlooked. All it took was one victory for the conversation to include his bid for a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. “It’s huge for my confidence going into the next few weeks,” McIlroy said. “I kept saying I didn’t need a win going into Augusta to feel like I had a chance. I just wanted to see signs of good golf. And thankfully, I’ve been able to get both.” Just don’t get the idea his confidence was lagging. McIlroy always says that when he’s playing well, it’s hard to remember ever playing poorly. And when he’s playing poorly, it’s hard to remember what it was like to play well. But he has a history of going through spurts of mediocrity, and coming out of it strong without notice. Most memorable was in 2012 when he missed the cut four times in five tournaments. Two months later, he won the PGA Championship and consecutive FedEx Cup playoff events. Three times in his career, McIlroy has won in his next start after missing the cut. Five other times, he won after finishing out of the top 30. That’s why he wasn’t the least bit concerned after missing the cut at the Valspar Championship. “It’s such a fine line out here, and I might have sounded crazy the last few weeks when I was telling everyone it actually feels pretty close and I’m not that far away, and I’m putting up 72s and 73s,” he said. “And all of a
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See GOLF, Page 5B
COLUMBIA — With 33 seconds left in Sunday night’s NCAA tournament game between South Carolina and Virginia, A’ja Wilson came off the floor at Colonial Life Arena one last time, as fans chanted her name and gave her a loud and raucous ovation. After four years and 62 games, almost all of them wins, Wilson’s time playing in Columbia, South Carolina, was over. Her final season will continue in Albany, New York, next weekend thanks to the Gamecocks’ 66-56 win, and then, maybe, Columbus, Ohio. But while Wilson said she spent most of Sunday thinking about helping her team survive against a feisty UVA squad that closed to within three points in the fourth quarter, she said that
South Carolina vs. buffalo
NCAA Tournament Albany Region Semifinal Saturday; TV: ESPN/ESPN2
moment leaving the hardwood of CLA late Sunday was big one. “That’s when it really sank in that, this is my last time here, this is my last time here in this uniform, playing in front of a great crowd like that,” Wilson said later. “And I appreciate everything from the workers at Colonial Life to the fans, to my teammates, to the coaches, just thank you so much for a great four years here,” Wilson said. “This is my home, and hopefully when I re-
turn it’s the same energy.” Anticipation around Wilson’s final home contest had been building since the team honored her on senior night, the last regular season home game, almost a month ago. But some of that excitement seemed threatened after the NCAA announced that South Carolina and Virginia’s second round game would tip at 9 p.m. on Sunday, the latest start time possible. In response, head coach Dawn Staley urged fans to make a “pajama party” out of the game and send Wilson off right, and 10,037 supporters made it out for the late contest, making their presence felt so much so that both teams had trouble communicating, they said.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
South Carolina forward A’ja Wilson celebrates a basket against Virginia on Sunday.
See WILSON, Page 5B
Men’s NCAA Tournament
REGIONAL RESET
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Clemson forward Elijah Thomas, front, celebrates a basket with forward David Skara during the first half of a second-round game in the NCAA Tournament against Auburn on Sunday.
NCAA Sweet 16 has unexpected field after favorites ousted The Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After little went according to plan in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the bracket has a wildly different look for the Sweet 16 than many expected. Out: Two 1-seeds (Virginia and Xavier) and a pair of 2-seeds (North Carolina and
cuse and Loyola-Chicago). There are only seven of the top 16 seeds still alive for the regional rounds The Cavaliers’ historic loss clemson vs. kansas to 16-seed UMBC took out the NCAA Tournament top overall seed and thrust VilMidwest Region Semifinal lanova into the role of favorite, 7:07 p.m. Friday; TV: CBS while preseason No. 1 Duke was dominant in its two tournament wins. Cincinnati). Despite all the bracket turIn: Two No. 11 seeds (Syra-
moil, the power conferences managed to get 12 teams into the Sweet 16, with four coming from both the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12. vvv » EAST This is the region that came closest to following the script. Four of the top five seeds
See TOURNEY, Page 5B
College Football
No role change for Smith in Gamecock offense BY BEN BREINER
The (Columbia) State
COLUMBIA — OrTre Smith is pretty confident about it. Last season, he played eight snaps in his first two games. Then Deebo Samuel got hurt against Kentucky, and Smith averaged 49.1 yards a game the rest of the season as a starter. Deebo is back, but Smith doesn’t imagine he’ll have to ad-
just too much. “I don’t really see my role changing,” Smith said. “I still see myself getting the same amount of playing time. With Deebo back, maybe a little bit less.”The former No. 1 recruit in the state, per 247Sports’ rankings, played last season with a group of high-usage pass
catchers between wide receiver Bryan Edwards (64 catches, 101 targets, 793 yards) ,tight end Hayden Hurst (44 catches, 63 targets, 559 yards) and wide receiver Shi Smith (29 catches, 44 targets, 409 yards). Hurst departs, but Samuel returns as almost assuredly USC’s top option in the passing game. (Edwards, Shi
Smith and OrTre Smith are all suited to play the two outside spots.) For a first season, OrTre Smith experienced modest success. He finished third on the team in receptions (30), targets (51) and fourth in yards with 326. His first game, he caught a touchdown after Samuel went down,
See SMITH, Page 5B