March Madness: Top Performers From East Region in Round of 32

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Mar 19, 2017; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Sindarius Thornwell (0) celebrates after beating the Duke Blue Devils in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /

Sindarius Thornwell

Possibly even more shocking than Villanova losing was the upset of Duke. Coming into the NCAA Tournament, there was arguably no team hotter than Duke. In the ACC Tournament, Duke was able to defeat Miami, Louisville, North Carolina, and Notre Dame in four straight days. Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Duke was certainly rolling.

Despite this success, Duke was unable to defeat South Carolina. With a good home crowd behind them, South Carolina had a monster second half for the come from behind win. To no surprise, it was Sindarius Thornwell who was the star for South Carolina. As one of the best scorers in the country, Duke didn’t have an answer for Thornwell.

In the upset win, Thornwell was able to total 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Even though Thornwell was the top performer, there were some other players that stepped up in the win.

On the inside, Chris Silva was a big x-factor in the game, as he totaled a double-double in the win. Silva was able to finish with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Getting that type of production from Silva certainly helped contribute to the win for South Carolina. Few people had South Carolina advancing to the Sweet 16, but Thornwell was able to carry them to victory.

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