South Carolina vs. Marquette: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2017

Propelled by a huge second-half outburst, the South Carolina Gamecocks earned their first NCAA tournament win since 1973 by knocking off the Marquette Golden Eagles 93-73. 

This was South Carolina's first tournament appearance since 2004, and it's already one to remember for the school. The Gamecocks outscored Marquette by 21 points over the final 20 minutes to earn the right to play Sunday.

SEC Player of the Year Sindarius Thornwell did what he's done all year, finishing with 29 points and 11 rebounds. His performance was also the first of its kind for South Carolina in more than four decades, per ESPN Stats & Info:

The key for Marquette's success down the stretch has been on the offensive end, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello:

By comparison, per ESPN Stats & Info, South Carolina was known for having a stingy defense:

Things looked good for the Golden Eagles in that regard throughout the first half. They were only up by one, but 40 points indicated they had figured out South Carolina's defense.  

The problems for Marquette set in due to turnovers. It struggled to hang onto the ball with 18 giveaways, a number that looks even worse when combined with South Carolina's 13 offensive rebounds. 

This was one of the Gamecocks' best offensive games of the season. They entered the NCAA tournament ranked 237th nationally in offensive efficiency, per Sports-Reference.com. Their 93 points against Marquette marked its best single-game output since January 24 against Auburn.

That outburst came thanks to a balanced attack that featured four players scoring in double figures, with Thornwell's 29 leading the way.

P.J. Dozier had one of the big momentum-changing plays with this dunk midway through the second half to put South Carolina up by five, via NCAA March Madness:

There was an interesting subplot to this game that Marquette won't use as an excuse, though ESPN's C.L. Brown wasn't afraid to bring it up.

"Marquette would probably have a comfortable lead if this wasn't a semi-home game for South Carolina," Brown wrote. "Gamecocks getting an energy boost from partisan crowd every time it seems [they're] losing ground. Still don't understand how a seventh seed can play this close to home."

The pro-Gamecocks venue may not have made a difference in the final outcome, especially given how sloppy Marquette played, but a more neutral site could have allowed the Golden Eagles a chance to settle down when things started to get out of hand. 

After Marquette got within five points at 68-65, South Carolina proceeded to put things away with a 24-4 run that made things look a lot easier than they were most of the way.

Things will only get more difficult for the Gamecocks on Sunday as a date with Duke awaits. Playing close to home will work to South Carolina's advantage as does being an outstanding defensive club that ranked fourth in defensive efficiency, per Sports-Reference.com.

The Gamecocks will need that defensive effort to show up because they can't depend on this kind of offensive showing each night. Head coach Frank Martn pushed all the right buttons tonight, but his work in the NCAA tournament is just beginning. 

Postgame Reaction

Martin wasn't completely ready to celebrate because his team won one tournament game. 

"We're not there yet," Martin said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "But it's fun right now."

Alex English, who was the star of South Carolina's last tournament win before Friday, was very happy with what he saw. 

"This is a great day for Gamecock basketball," English said, per the AP. 

Thornwell was very appreciative of the reaction South Carolina received from the crowd in attendance.

"Thank you to all the Gamecocks fans that were here and watching on TV," he said, per Spurs & Feathers.