Could Gamecocks’ season be a success without an NCAA trip? Frank Martin’s thoughts
South Carolina’s men’s basketball team has a difficult road to the NCAA tournament — this much is clear.
If the Gamecocks don’t win four games in four days at this week’s SEC tournament, they likely won’t make the NCAAs, extending the drought to three seasons since a 2017 run to the Final Four. USC sits at 18-13 overall, coming off a 10-8 SEC season.
The question came up Monday: Can the 2019-20 season be considered a success if USC doesn’t make to the NCAA tournament? Gamecocks coach Frank Martin didn’t commit to a complete answer, as the season has more games to play, but he seems to feel it could be viewed in a positive light.
“I think so,” Martin said. “I mean, we’re 328th or something like that, as far as youth. There are some teams in our league that have a lot of experience and they finished below us.”
Per the Ken Pomeroy metrics, the Gamecocks are 325th in the experience ranking that Martin referenced, with only Maik Kotsar and Jair Bolden as rotation players with upperclassman eligibility.
Martin pointed out the team was picked to finish 10th in the SEC in the preseason media poll and ended up tied for sixth. The Gamecocks have finished at or better than projected six years in a row.
“I used to count better, what’s that? Six consecutive non-losing seasons, that accurate?” Martin said. “You know, there’s still games to be played. I don’t know where this is going to end this year. I think I’m better prepared to answer that question whenever we play our last game this season.”
The coach admitted to being disappointed with some losses, but he also is optimistic about the pieces he has in place and how the team improved. After a 6-4 start, they finished 14-9 with wins against teams such as Virginia, Clemson, Kentucky and Arkansas.
At the moment, four of his five starters are freshmen and sophomores, including a point guard in Jermaine Couisnard and a developing talent in Keyshawn Bryant.
“Who’s won more in the SEC than (us) over the last six years?” Martin asked before being told it was Kentucky, Florida and a tie with Tennessee.
South Carolina has 51 conference wins over that stretch. Kentucky has 69 and Florida has 54.
The Gamecocks will have their chance to add to that win total Thursday with a late evening game against either lower-seeded Arkansas or Vanderbilt. Should USC win its opener, they’d face LSU and potentially Auburn after that.
The run of six non-losing seasons in a row — five above .500 — is a stretch the program has not seen since the Frank McGuire era. But only one of those years resulted in an NCAA tournament trip.
The odds for another one are long, to say the least, but perhaps a season without one could be considered a success, at least in the mind of the coach.
“I’m optimistic with what we’re doing right now, where we’re at, with what we’ve done up to this point,” Martin said. “But we’ll put closure to the season and I’ll give you my opinion on that whenever that day comes.”
Next USC basketball game
What: South Carolina at SEC Tournament
When: 9:40 p.m. Thursday vs. Arkansas or Vanderbilt
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
TV: SEC Network
Radio: 107.5 The Game in Columbia area
This story was originally published March 9, 2020 at 11:54 AM.
