The game was in the balance until the final seconds when Chattanooga missed two potential game-winning shots. (0:31)
According to sources, Paris has finalized a five-year deal to become the next head coach at South Carolina.
The formality of board approval is required later this week.
Over the last five seasons, Paris has been at Chattanooga, going 87-72. Paris has gone 65-29 over the past three seasons after struggling for two seasons. The SoCon conference tournament title and the Southern Conference regular-season title were both won by the Mocs.
In the first round of the NCAA tournament, the Lookouts led Illinois until the final minute before falling by one point.
Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin for seven seasons and had experience recruiting at the high-major level. He played college ball at DePauw, IUP, and Wooster, and was an assistant coach at the three non-Division I schools.
Frank Martin was fired last week after 10 seasons in Columbia. South Carolina made its first Final Four appearance in the NCAA tournament in the year that Martin was there. South Carolina went 18-13 this season and 9-9 in the SEC.
Paris had experience recruiting, evaluating and developing high-major players at Wisconsin, which was one of the attractive qualities for South Carolina officials. Bo Ryan and Greg Gard were the coach and the players of the Wisconsin team that won the national title in 2015.
During his seven seasons at Wisconsin, Paris helped develop some of the most well-known players from that era, including Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, and Bronson Koenig.
He showed the ability to build a high-major-caliber roster with the help of Malachi Smith, Josh Ayeni and Silvio De Sousa. David Jean-Baptiste, a fifth-year senior, was recruited by Paris and delivered the 30-foot buzzer-beater that sealed the Southern Conference championship for the Mocs.
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