It may not have been a revenge game for Jermaine Couisnard, but the Oregon guard decimated the South Carolina Gamecocks just the same. He enjoyed a historic afternoon in Pittsburgh's PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, leading the red-hot Ducks to an 87-73 upset victory over No. 6 seed South Carolina.
Couisnard is only the third player on a double-digit seeded team to score 40 points in an NCAA Tournament game, joining the greatest shooter of all-time in Steph Curry and former NBA All-Star Wally Szczerbiak in the elite category, per CBS Sports. He was a magnificent 14-of-22 from the field (5-of-9 from 3-point land) to go with six assists and four rebounds.
With the dominant effort, Couisnard also breaks the record for most points by a Oregon player in a Tournament game, which was held by Tajuan Porter since 2007, per KOIN News' Brenna Greene. The 25-year-old spent four years at South Carolina before transferring to Eugene after the firing of former head coach Frank Martin.
Couisnard averaged a career-high 15.4 points in 2023-24. The biggest knock on his game is his efficiency (shot 38.8 percent this year), but he was lights-out in what was largely a straightforward win.
Oregon continues its improbable late-season revival
Only a week ago, Oregon basketball was on the verge of missing the Tournament for the third-straight season. Questions about HC Dana Altman's future would inevitably arise as a result. Now, the Ducks are one win away from reaching the second week of March Madness yet again. Altman's job security is unlikely to be a talking point anytime soon.
The team has overcome plenty of adversity this year and is ascending to its top form when it matters most. Jermaine Couisnard seized the spotlight today, but it could be N'Faly Dante or another player on Saturday against No. 3 seed Creighton. Or, perhaps this is the beginning of a sensational run for the former three-star recruit.
Does Jermaine Couisnard have more firepower in his arsenal?
Analysts always emphasize the importance of guards when making their bracket predictions for the NCAA Tournament, but the trick is to identify the ones best equipped to become the next March meteorite. Few could have justifiably filed Couisnard under that category.
Despite being an All-Pac-12 Second-Team selection and Oregon's leading scorer, the East Chicago, Indiana native shot 40 percent or better in a game just three times in the last month going into this do-or-die clash. His Pac-12 Tournament showing saw him turn ice cold.
And now, Couisnard's heroics put him in the same class as Davidson legend Steph Curry. They don't call it March Madness solely for marketing reasons. Pandemonium becomes the new normal around this time of year.
Whether or not this is the only offensive outburst Jermaine Couisnard has in him the rest of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, his name will forever be etched in program and college basketball history. And beyond just the thrilling upsets or highlight-reel plays, this spectacle is about the young athletes who force themselves into your subconscious.
That is surely the case for Gamecocks fans, anyway, as they will twitch whenever they hear the name of their former alum.
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