Martin vs. Martin, ACC flavor and other takeaways from USC’s schedule reveal
On June 7, shortly after the SEC announced each team’s league opponents for the upcoming season and 28 of South Carolina’s matchups were known, The State ran the headline, “Why USC’s 2018-19 basketball schedule is the toughest in the Frank Martin era.”
Two months later, when USC published the final details to its nonconference slate, Martin pretty much agreed with our analysis.
“It is probably the most challenging nonconference schedule that we have put together in my time at South Carolina,” the seventh-year coach said in a statement. “This will prepare us like no other year for conference play.”
Under Martin, the Gamecocks have done everything from sweep the nonconference portion of the schedule (see a 13-0 mark in 2015-16) to barely win more than they’ve lost (see the 7-6 result in 2013-14). USC, since 2012, has averaged a 10-3 record outside of SEC competition.
But, as Martin alluded to, the Gamecocks are on the brink of their most difficult stretch of non-SEC games in some time. How will they fare?
A deeper dive into the slate:
1. A Martin vs. Martin opener
South Carolina playing USC Upstate isn’t totally out of the ordinary. When the Gamecocks and Spartans meet on Nov. 6 in Colonial Life Arena, it will mark the fifth all-time matchup. Upstate is one of four Palmetto State opponents for Carolina this season.
But when Frank Martin looks over the scouting report for this one, he’ll see a familiar name. Brandon Martin is a 6-foot-6, 210-pound freshman forward who averaged a double-double and totaled more than 500 rebounds during an all-state career at Cardinal Newman. He spent this past year at St. Thomas More School in Connecticut.
He’s also Frank’s oldest child.
Martin has been a college head coach for 374 games. He’s never had to face his son.
This game will also mark the Upstate coaching debut for Dave Dickerson, a candidate for Carolina assistant openings in the past. The Spartans went 8-25 last season.
2. ACC flavor
It’s been nearly five decades since South Carolina last called the Atlantic Coast Conference home. When the Gamecocks take on Virginia and Clemson in consecutive games in December, it’ll mark the first time they’ve faced back-to-back ACC foes since the 1996-97 season when they lost to North Carolina on Dec. 7 and Clemson on Dec. 17.
UVa was the No. 1 overall seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament — before becoming the first regional No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 in the Big Dance’s first round. The 2018-19 Cavaliers are No. 7 in the latest CBS rankings. USC last beat a top 10 team in the nonconference on Jan. 3, 2015, when it upset No. 9 Iowa State in New York.
Clemson, which returns stalwarts Marcquise Reed and Shelton Mitchell and is coming off a Sweet 16 appearance, is No. 24 on CBS. The Tigers have taken two of their past three games at CLA.
3. Two shots at the defending national runners-up?
Fun fact: The last time a reigning national runner-up appeared on USC’s nonconference schedule came during the 1976-77 season against, yes, Michigan. USC, of course, wasn’t in a league at the time, but there’s still a tiny connection to what the Gamecocks will face this winter.
The 2018-19 Wolverines, which fell to Villanova in last year’s title game, lost their best player in Moe Wagner, but bring back former Kentucky transfer Charles Matthews. USC is guaranteed to see them Dec. 8 in Ann Arbor and could see them Nov. 18 in Connecticut as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.
The Dec. 8 game is followed by home clashes with UVa and Clemson. The Wolverines, Cavaliers and Tigers combined to go 89-21 last season.
4. No true road games until December
Four 2018 NCAA Tournament participants are in USC’s way, sure, but at least the Gamecocks have to face only one of of them (Michigan) in a true road game.
After home dates with Upstate, Stony Brook and Norfolk State to open the year, South Carolina will play neutral site games against Providence and Michigan or George Washington in Connecticut. It won’t be a true road opponent until Dec. 5 at Wyoming.
The Gamecocks began last season at Wofford and played Nov. 27 at Florida International.
Martin’s USC teams are 39-7 in home nonconference games, 8-6 away and 11-6 in neutral site games. The 2018-19 Gamecocks will leave CLA for five games in the nonconference, including a trip to Oklahoma State on Jan. 26 for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
5. An in-state tradition continues
South Carolina’s second-to-last nonconference game is scheduled for New Year’s Eve against North Greenville. This will mark the fifth straight season in which USC is taking on an in-state Division II opponent. The Gamecocks beat Coker (2014), Francis Marion (2015), Lander (2016) and Limestone (2017) by a combined 105 points.
Why does Martin keep this tradition going?
“Playing all these coaches in this state, it’s phenomenal,” Martin said last December. “It allows me to get to know them. It allows me to see their teams in person.
“It keeps the money in the state, which to me is huge. These smaller schools, the reason they’re small is because their budgets are small. So giving them the opportunity to collect that kind of money is something they’re not afforded very often.”
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South Carolina 2018-19 basketball schedule
Oct. 26 – Augusta University (exhibition)
Nov. 6 – USC Upstate
Nov. 9 – Stony Brook (Hall of Fame Tip-Off)
Nov. 13 – Norfolk State (Hall of Fame Tip-Off)
Nov. 17 – vs. Providence ( Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Connecticut)
Nov. 18 –vs. Michigan OR George Washington ( Hall of Fame Tip-Off in Connecticut)
Nov. 26 – Wofford
Nov. 30 – Coastal Carolina
Dec. 5 – at Wyoming
Dec. 8 – at Michigan
Dec. 19 – Virginia
Dec. 22 – Clemson
Dec. 31 – North Greenville
Jan. 26 – at Oklahoma State
TBA – Georgia
TBA – Mississippi State
TBA – Tennessee
TBA – Missouri
TBA – Texas A&M
TBA – Alabama
TBA – Arkansas
TBA – Auburn
TBA – Ole Miss
TBA – at Georgia
TBA – at Mississippi State
TBA – at Tennessee
TBA – at Missouri
TBA – at Texas A&M
TBA – at Florida
TBA – at Kentucky
TBA – at LSU
TBA – at Vanderbilt
This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 7:15 PM.