Jermaine Couisnard's 40 points power No. 11 Oregon to upset of No. 6 South Carolina

Oregon senior guard Jermaine Couisnard knows all about putting up big-time numbers in high-pressure situations.

A few weeks ago, he scored 39 points at No. 6 Arizona.

But Couisnard’s performance Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament vs. South Carolina propelled him to new levels of domination as he stares down the end of his collegiate career.

Couisnard scored 40 points against the Gamecocks, for whom he played three seasons before transferring to Oregon two years ago, powering the 11th-seeded Ducks to an 87-73 upset over No. 6 South Carolina.

His big afternoon set a Ducks program record for points in the Big Dance, in addition to his own personal best in points.

Couisnard went 14 of 22 from the floor, 5 of 9 from long range and 7 for 7 at the free-throw line, dominating South Carolina from just about every angle.

After the win, Couisnard distributed credit to his teammates.

“If it wasn’t for these guys, I wouldn’t have had what I had tonight, so I appreciate these guys,” he said.

His partner in crime was fellow senior N’Faly Dante, who contributed 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting, with the duo combining to score more than 72% of the team’s points.

Couisnard, Dante and the Ducks (24-11) now will face No. 3 Creighton (24-9) on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, with a tipoff time to be determined.

Oregon coach Dana Altman, in his 14th season at the helm in Eugene, previously coached the Bluejays from 1994-2010, compiling a 327-176 (.650) record and seven NCAA Tournament appearances.

“You can leave a place, but that doesn’t mean you still don’t love the place,” Altman said. “… Oregon is 1, but I think Creighton is 1A. There’s not much separation. I still love the school.”

Oregon led by five at halftime and came out of the break swinging, seizing momentum and playing at a fast pace.

By the time of the initial media timeout of the final half, Oregon had built a 14-point lead, which increased to 17 when Couisnard sank a 3-pointer to put his team up 54-37.

At multiple junctures down the stretch of the final half, South Carolina attempted to get back in the fight, trimming Oregon’s lead to 10 at one point, but, ultimately, the hole was too deep.

“We gave up some real easy baskets in that stretch, but we got our free throws,” Altman said. “We shot 80% — 24 of 30 — and we had some really good possessions where Jermaine and Dante had the ball in their hands at the end of it.

“… Our defense wasn’t as good as it should have been, but, offensively, we kept pace with them.”

South Carolina’s Meechie Johnson scored a team-high 24 points, 21 of which came in the final half during the Gamecocks’ futile comeback bid.

For coach Lamont Paris, who oversaw a 15-win improvement this season in Year 2 at South Carolina and earned SEC Coach of the Year honors, the sting of his team’s season coming to an end is just setting in.

“I’ll keep it as simple as I can,” he said. “It hurts to lose, and it hurts more when it’s the last game of the season. It hurts the most when you’re surrounded by a group of guys that is a really, really special group of individuals. There’s really not a lot more to say than that.”