I was at that game in Columbia as a couple of colleagues of mine were USC alums and made the relatively short trip down I-77 from Charlotte after leaving work. We got down there a couple of hours or so before the game and had a few beverages over at Damon's Grill (now closed) which was a stone's throw from the hoops arena.
We were 12-0 and ranked #7 in the country and USC wasn't that good, so I thought we'd roll and was talking some trash. Plus we had crushed them the year before in the Dome, so I was quite confident, or probably if I'm being truly honest, quite cocky. Well, I almost ate a bunch of crow that night before escaping with that 77-74 W in OT.
We headed back to Damon's afterwards for a couple more and I remember feeling incredibly relieved. They on the other hand didn't care that much as they were much bigger football fans than hoops, and got more enjoyment of watching a Yankee squirm a bit.