Bracketology: The latest on where South Carolina stands

South Carolina men’s basketball took a tough home loss this week in four overtimes against Alabama, but that didn’t hurt the Gamecocks too badly in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology projections on ESPN.

His Friday update had the Gamecocks holding steady as a No. 5 seed in the West Region, granted one at Buffalo instead of nearby Greenville. He put USC against the winner of a Indiana-Tennessee play-in game.

The winner of West Virginia and Monmouth, who the Gamecocks edged in overtime, was slated as a second-round opponent.

The current top 16 seeds will be revealed Saturday on a show on CBS.

The Gamecocks are 19-5, 9-2 in the SEC, and looking for their first trip to the dance since 2004. This year’s NCAA Selection Show is March 12.

Other projections:

▪  CBS’s Jerry Palm kept the Gamecocks as a No. 6 seed in the South Region, facing the winner of a play-in game between Syracuse and Michigan State in Milwaukee. Creighton and Bucknell would play for the right to face the winner of South Carolina’s game.

▪  USA Today put South Carolina as a No. 7 seed in Orlando in the Midwest Region, matched up against Virginia Tech, currently 16-7 in the ACC. The winner of Florida State-Florida Gulf Coast would await in the second round.

▪  FoxSports’s Stewart Mandel slotted USC as a No. 7 seed against TCU in Greenville in the South Region, with with the winner of North Carolina and Arkansas State in Round 2.