This team followed its upset of Duke with a complete thrashing of third-seeded Baylor, 70-50, and now goes zooming into the round of 8 to face Florida, propelled by a victory that McGuire, who died in 1994, would unquestionably have adored.

“It all starts with our mindset,” Martin said. “We have got guys that are completely bought into what we do.”

Baylor, a team whose individual talent can leave N.B.A. scouts drooling, one that rose to No. 1 in the nation earlier this season, learned the hard way on Friday. South Carolina’s defense has made many teams look bad this season, including, in certain moments, Duke. But for nearly eight minutes in the first half, there was a point when Baylor’s offense seemed actually to be deserving of some pity. After taking a lead, 15-13, with 9 minutes 58 seconds left in the half, the Bears stopped scoring. Minutes ticked by. Misses piled up. The momentum turned into a landslide.

It was as dry a spell as any in Madison Square Garden this season — and that is saying something in the home of the woeful Knicks. The Gamecocks capitalized on the Bears’ incompetence — they missed 11 straight shots — by scoring 18 unanswered points. A 3-pointer by Jake Lindsey ended the drought, 7:37 after it began. Trailing by 37-22 at halftime, Baylor slumped off to its locker room looking shellshocked.