USC ended January on a high note. Here’s the path to a better standing for March
It was a month ago Thursday that South Carolina’s basketball season got turned on its head.
The Gamecocks we thought we knew — the squad that knocked off Clemson and Virginia after Frank Martin’s key adjustments — came back from Christmas break with a dud.
The loss — statistically the worst of the eight-year Martin era — is a prominent part of this team’s story, a black eye of sorts on a postseason résumé. What’s happened since doesn’t erase that bad, bad afternoon in Colonial Life Arena, but it should be enough for fans to rediscover some hope.
USC beat Arkansas on Wednesday, meaning — in a span of 30 days — it went from losing at home to a team with a NET ranking in the 300s to taking a road game over a team with a NET of 28. And not only that, the result gave the Gamecocks (12-8, 4-3 SEC) a 4-1 finish to January.
They enter the penultimate month of the season a game back of third place in the SEC standings.
The Arkansas win jumped Carolina 13 spots to No. 75 in NET, the metric that has replaced RPI as a main evaluating tool for the NCAA Tournament selection committee. There’s no magic number to hit to earn an at-large bid to the Big Dance — St. John’s got in last year with a NET of 73 while N.C. State (33) and Clemson (35) were left out — and you’ll get a headache trying to guess.
But just know the Gamecocks need wins and they’re set up for a ton of them over these next 30 days.
The combined conference record for USC’s nine February opponents is 28-35. Only Florida (26-37) has an easier slate among SEC teams.
Can’t-lose games: Missouri (Saturday), Texas A&M (Feb. 8), Georgia (Feb. 26)
South Carolina already has two quadrant four losses to its name with Stetson and Boston University. Falling to any of the Tigers (NET 84), Aggies (126) or Bulldogs (97) at home would mean a quadrant three loss. For a team with so little room for error, these would be damaging results.
Winnable opportunities: at Ole Miss (Feb. 5), at Georgia (Feb. 12), Tennessee (Feb. 15)
If you’re making a case for USC right now, you’re highlighting its 5-2 road record. The Gamecocks, as of Thursday afternoon, are one of six teams among the nation’s biggest conferences — ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 12, SEC — with at least five true road wins.
This makes trips to Oxford — where the Gamecocks are 1-5 under Martin — and Athens seem all that more favorable.
The Volunteers (12-8, 4-3) have won five straight against USC, but the last was by a bucket in Knoxville. Carolina should be favored in the rematch.
Résumé builders: at Mississippi State (Feb. 19), LSU (Feb. 22), at Alabama (Feb. 29)
USC’s enigma of a résumé includes three quadrant one wins (second-most in the SEC behind Kentucky’s four) and two quad four losses (most in the SEC).
As of Jan. 30, the Bulldogs, Tigers and Crimson Tide represent three more Q1 opportunities for the Gamecocks, though none of them are cake walks. South Carolina has lost three of four in Starkville and Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa is one of two SEC venues where Martin has yet to leave a winner. No. 22 LSU enters Saturday’s hosting of Ole Miss as the league’s last undefeated team.
SEC Standings
LSU 7-0
Kentucky 6-1
Auburn 5-2
South Carolina 4-3
Mississippi State 4-3
Alabama 4-3
Florida 4-3
Tennessee 4-3
Texas A&M 4-3
Arkansas 3-4
Missouri 2-5
Georgia 1-6
Ole Miss 1-6
Vanderbilt 0-7
NEXT
What: Missouri at South Carolina
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Colonial Life Arena
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
