It doesn't get much tougher for a visitor than playing at South Carolina. Not only does an opponent face a great team, which we all saw in Omaha, but a tough environment.

South Carolina takes baseball seriously. The school has a gorgeous stadium that with the standing room can exceed 10,000 screaming fans. Florida's McEthan Stadium holds 5,500 and the only time it was full this season was for the Super Regionals against Miami.

Florida went in there and won the series in the first two games. Alex Panteliodis and Hudson Randall both shut the Gamecocks down. Florida then emptied its bench for game three and the Gamecocks won.

The Gators and Gamecocks then proceeded to mow down the competition in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. South Carolina took down a tough Coastal Carolina squad in Myrtle Beach in two straight one-run games to advance to Omaha. Florida swept Miami in Gainesville to do the same.

Both teams lost their opener in Omaha and were sent to the loser's bracket. Florida then bowed out meekly to Florida State.

In two College World Series games, both Panteliodis and Randall pitched with a severe case of the jitters. Neither looked like they had all season. Pamteliodis hit the first two UCLA batters he faced and didn't last very long in a UCLA 11-3 rout.

Randall was down 4-1 by the third inning. He was gone in the fourth. The Gators staged a bit of a comeback in the ninth before a double play sealed their fate in an 8-5 Florida State win.

South Carolina, on the other hand, routed top seeded Arizona State in an elimination game, then took down Oklahoma to advance to the last round of the bracket. There the Gamecocks would also face their in-state ACC rivals, the Clemson Tigers. They beat the Tigers twice to advance to the finals where they swept UCLA.

Florida was left to sit and watch the team they had beaten to win the SEC celebrate a National championship. I hope it made the Gators sick to their stomachs. I hope it made them angry. Other than Matt den Dekker and Kevin Chapman, the Gators will all return next season. They will return knowing that they have the talent to win it all. There will be no excuses.

Much like the 2007 basketball team and the 2009 football team, it will be all or nothing for the 2011 Gator baseball team. Anything less than a title will be a disappointment.

The 2007 hoops team came through. It was one of the greatest moments in school history. The 2009 football team fell just short. It was one of the biggest disappointments in school history.

So the Gators knows what is expected, and they know they have the tools to get it done. Now it's just a matter of working hard and going out there and performing.

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Turner, a 21-year-old Junior out of The Ohio State University, attended high school at St. Joseph High School in a suburb of Chicago, Westchester, Illinois. By his senior year, he had become one of the top high school basketball players in the country. He was then recruited by Ohio State (His father lived in Columbus, which made his decision to attend the University much easier), and in his freshman year, he averaged a respectable 27.1 MIN and 8.5 PTS per game. As a sophomore, Turner became the leading scorer in the Big Ten, and he was selected for the All-Big Ten Conference Tournament team. By his junior year, Turner was averaging an amazing 35.8 MIN and 20.4 PTS per game for Ohio State.

The Buckeyes went on to win the Big Ten Championship by defeating the Minnesota Gophers (a game in which Turner scored 31 points), and even though they were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by the Tennessee Volunteers, Evan Turner received the Naismith College Player of the Year Award for his excellent season.

There is no question that Turner is special. He trails John Wall in scoring by only about one point per game (Turner averages 15, and Wall is just ahead with 16.6). Turner’s ball-control is so good it is sometimes scary, and his body-awareness is second-to-none. His free-throw shooting is also nothing to ignore at 79 percent. He is without-a-doubt a top contender for (at the very least) a top 5 draft pick, but an advantage that Turner has over many other players in this year’s Draft is something that cannot be demonstrated with numbers: Character.

Many players will enter the Draft after only the required one year in college. Turner is a down-to-earth young man that chose not to leave Ohio State because he simply “liked college.” Unlike many young players, Turner didn’t “jump the gun” too early because he realized that he had more growing to do (in his sport as well as his life). Evan Turner is well-adjusted and remains un-jaded by the fans, fame, and soon-to-be fortune.

So which team will he soon call home?

John Wall will more-than-likely go to the Washington Wizards as the first pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, and Turner could (and should) be chosen second and become a Philadelphia 76er. Philly needs a strong all-around player with the confidence and charisma to revive a franchise, and they will find these traits in Evan Turner. With some training, Turner should have no trouble transitioning into the NBA, and he has the potential to be a franchise-reviving player.

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The two teams were paired in the loser's bracket after ASU's loss to Clemson and South Carolina's loss to Oklahoma.

The game took an ugly turn in the bottom of the second for the Sun Devils. Starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (10-3) gave up 10 hits and eight runs, only lasting one and 2/3 innings.

Five of the first six South Carolina batters reached base in the second inning before second baseman Scott Wingo started the action with a two-RBI double down the left field line. Two batters later, Whit Merrifield batted in Wingo to take a 3-0 lead.

Soon later, Gamecock center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. smashed a high home run, clearing the fence in right-center field, adding three runs to the mix. ASU's Kelly was then one strike away from finishing the disastrous second inning when third baseman Adrian Morales crushed a hit off the foul pole in left field for a two-run home run, putting the Gamecocks up 8-0.

The eight-run second inning was ASU's worst in 196 games, dating back to May 2007. It was also the most runs gained in an inning by the Gamecocks this season.

The Sun Devils were unable to gain momentum after the outstanding second inning performance by South Carolina, earning just four runs total in the fifth and eight innings through RBI's and walks.

South Carolina's starting pitcher Sam Dyson (6-5) had an impressive game, allowing only two runs through seven innings of play before being relieved by Matt Price.

Arizona State set a College World Series record being the only number one seed to have been eliminated from the tournament by going 0-2. This was also ASU's only back to back loss of the 2010 season.

The South Carolina Gamecocks will face the winner of Tuesday night's face-off between Oklahoma and Clemson in an elimination game on Thursday.

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With Sunday's 4-3 loss to Oklahoma, the Gamecocks have lost seven straight opening-round College World Series (CWS) games in Omaha, Neb.

But as they showed against top-seeded Arizona State, there is a positive to that: They know how to fight out of the bottom-half of the bracket.

The Gamecocks made a very strong first step in that direction by clobbering No. 1 Arizona State 11-4 on Tuesday to advance in Omaha.

The Gamecocks are trying to add another notch in their losers' bracket warrior belt. In 2002, they battled through the losers' bracket to finish second. In 2004, they did the same and finished third.

They are now 5-2 in CWS games after losing the opener—not a bad way to bounce back from a little adversity.

It may seem like a knock on the program, but South Carolina seems to thrive with their backs against the wall at the CWS. Whatever works for you, guys. Just do what you do best.

This year, they will try to take one more step on that quest, and bring home the NCAA crown.

It started with a little bit of sweet revenge against the Sun Devils, who knocked the Gamecocks out of the CWS in the two teams' last CWS meeting in 1981. In fact, that was the last time Arizona State won the national championship. That may be a good sign for South Carolina, if the tables truly have turned.

The Gamecocks struggled to bring runners home in their opening-round game against Oklahoma. They went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Their only runs came off two solo home runs and a bases-loaded walk.

It would be an understatement to say that they bounced back from those woes against the top-seeded team in the tourney. But that's just what South Carolina does.

All you have to do is look at that second-inning box score, when the Gamecocks piled on an overwhelming eight runs on Arizona State. It didn't look like they had much trouble putting runs across the plate.

It was enough to put the game out of reach early, as the Gamecocks coasted the rest of the way, with only a few scoring threats raised by Arizona State.

The performance was certainly impressive, and perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised. South Carolina is no stranger to this situation.

I don't know if they are capable of running the table for a championship because that is certainly not an easy feat after dropping your first game.

What I do know is that I would not want to lose Tuesday's night cap. Playing South Carolina in the losers' bracket is the last thing you want to do with your CWS lives on the line.

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The Sun Devils are going home after two straight losses in Omaha, both to schools in the Palmetto State: Clemson by a score of 6-3 and South Carolina by 11-4.

Arizona State seemed to have a clear path through the bracket in Omaha with all of the other top eight seeds, other than No. 6 UCLA, already eliminated. But the pressure was just too much.

It just proved that anything goes once you get to Omaha. Well, anything but the top seed winning the national championship, apparently.

That hasn't happened since Miami took home the crown in 1999.

Things were thrown out of whack for the Sun Devils to start off the CWS when their opening-round game was moved to Monday morning. Of course, that didn't seem to affect things for Clemson.

Then, they got perhaps the worst news yet: They would be facing losers' bracket warriors South Carolina. Read the write-up about South Carolina's losers' bracket success .

A game after Sun Devils ace Seth Blair dropped his first game of the season, the pitching staff made that performance look like one of Blair's usual gems.

The Gamecocks blew the game wide open in the second inning, with a slew of hits and a pair of home runs. Jackie Bradley Jr. (three-run) and Adrian Morales (two-run) each homered in the inning.

The next inning, Arizona State's pitching couldn't find its mark again. This time, the Sun Devils gave up two runs on a walk and hit batter with the bases loaded.

The Sun Devils couldn't get any offense going until the fifth inning, when Deven Marrero led off the inning with a double. Austin Barnes and Drew Maggi hit back-to-back RBI singles to finally put the Sun Devils on the board.

But it is almost impossible for anyone to dig out of a 10-run hole, even the top team in the land.

The Sun Devils had a chance the next inning with runners on first and second, but a double play quickly killed the rally.

They threatened once more in the eighth inning, when they loaded the bases. But the Sun Devils only got two more across the plate.

South Carolina's Whit Merrifield added a solo shot for good measure in the bottom half just in case. But it wouldn't be needed.

It was the story of Arizona State's trip to the CWS. The Sun Devils weren't able to force their dominance as they had all season long.

In fact, it was the only time this season that they dropped two straight games.

You can chalk it up to the CWS No. 1 seed curse. You can blame the state of South Carolina, if you want.

But the No. 1 team in the land just got flat outplayed on Tuesday.

It's nothing to be ashamed of, though. It just seems to be the CWS tradition.

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