South Carolina Basketball: Gamecocks officially learn NCAA Tournament seeding (with video)

South Carolina basketball fans have been taken on a memorable ride this season. After their favorite team tied a program record for losses in the 2022-2023 season, year 2 of the Lamont Paris era was something much bigger than anyone reasonably could have expected.

After being picked dead last in the SEC in the preseason, the Gamecocks have tied their all-time record for wins in a single season with 26 victories (tied with the 2016-2017 Final Four team). Lamont Paris swept the SEC Coach of the Year honors and could be in line to win the National Coach of the Year Award.

This year's Selection Sunday is strange because South Carolina basketball is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, the first time they confidently could say that since the late '90s.

This year's Gamecocks had been projected as a 5-seed by most bracketologists over the last week, but when the CBS Selection Sunday show revealed the South Carolina Gamecocks' place in the field, the 6-seed in the Midwest Region is where USC settled.

After not making the NCAA Tournament since that magical Final Four run, the Gamecocks will face off with the Oregon Ducks on Thursday. They will play in Pittsburgh, but if they advance to the Sweet 16, the bracket will shift to Detroit.

You can watch the moment Carolina learned their fate below:

The Fighting Q-Zips (if you know, you know) avoided the dreaded draw to Spokane, Washington despite the Pacific Northwest being the most commonly projected site for Lamont Paris' team. They also dodged the Auburn Tigers in the Region, a team that had the Gamecocks' number in two meetings this season.

The 1st round matchup against the Oregon Ducks will be a battle. Though 6 seeds win 62% of the time, the Ducks are hot, having earned their way to the Big Dance by winning the final Pac-12 Tournament. Former Gamecock guard Jermaine Couisnard is a major contributor for the Ducks after transferring from the program when Frank Martin was fired.

The winner of South Carolina-Oregon will face the winner of Creighton-Akron for a chance to travel to Detroit for the Sweet 16.

The other teams in the Midwest Region include the Purdue Boilermakers, Tennessee Volunteers, Kansas Jayhawks, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, Utah State Aggies, TCU Horned Frogs, Virginia Cavaliers/Colorado State Rams (play-in game), McNeese State Cowboys, Samford Bulldogs, Saint Peter's Peacocks, and Montana State Bobcats/Grambling State Tigers (play-in game).

You can view the entire March Madness bracket here.

Check out some March Madness viewing hacks here.