‘We’re fighting for our lives.’ Can Frank Martin’s Gamecocks make a postseason run?
The play was broken.
Two seconds on the clock in overtime. Tie game on the road against Ole Miss. And as soon as South Carolina guard Erik Stevenson stepped on the court, he knew the play coach Frank Martin drew up during the timeout wasn’t going to work.
The ball was supposed to go to explosive freshman Devin Carter, to deliver a layup at the rim. Stevenson was the second read, James Reese the third. But with the way the Rebels switched up their defense, neither Carter nor Stevenson was going to be able to get open. Right before Jermaine Couisnard inbounded the ball from the opposite end of the court, Stevenson turned to Reese and said, “You’re gonna have to hit this.”
The result was a victory and the No. 1 play on ESPN SportsCenter.
Reese banked a half-court shot off the backboard, sealing a 77-74 Gamecocks win on Tuesday night in miraculous fashion. Reese’s improbable 3-pointer saved the game — and it just might’ve saved USC’s season.
At 15-10 (6-7 SEC) and with only five regular-season games left to play, the Gamecocks need every win they can get to even earn a look at the postseason.
In many ways, that broken-play buzzer beater is symbolic for where USC stands as a team: Things look messy, but there’s always a chance.
“Honestly, we felt like our season’s on the line,” said an exuberant Reese minutes after making the highlight-reel shot. “Everybody was just straight laser-focused on one thing ... but that’s just how it’s gonna be from here on out for us. Everybody’s just locked in because we have something to fight for.”
There is a path to the postseason, but it’s a steep climb. The SEC standings are muddied behind top dogs Auburn, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas. At 6-7, the Gamecocks sit in eighth place, but their next four games come against LSU (6-6), Mississippi State (5-6), Alabama (6-6) and Missouri (4-8). There’s an opportunity to move up the standings before a daunting season-ending clash at Auburn.
Even still, with the Gamecocks sitting at No. 98 in the most recent NET rankings and with just one Quadrant 1 win on their resume, they’ll still likely need to make a run in the SEC tournament to make the big dance. By comparison , the team right above USC in the SEC standings — Florida — is one of the first four teams out in ESPN’s NCAA tournament bracketology. The Gators (16-10, 6-7) rank at No. 54 in the NET and have two Quadrant 1 wins, while also beating the Gamecocks in Columbia.
The National Invitation Tournament is a safer bet for the Gamecocks, though not a certainty either. The Gamecocks are listed as a bubble team by NIT bracketology expert John Templon. USC last made the NIT in 2015-16 after a 24-8 season. Prior to that, the Gamecocks earned an NIT invite in 2008-09 after going 21-9 in then-coach Darrin Horn’s first season.
Even if the Gamecocks do earn an NIT bid, questions are likely to abound about Martin’s status with the school.
Conversations between Martin, athletic director Ray Tanner and other USC decision-makers dragged on for a month after last year’s 6-15 pandemic-ravaged season. And though Martin and the school came to terms on an extension, Martin agreed to a lower buyout — from $3.3 million to $3 million — after the 2021-22 season, and his contract does not include a buyout for either of the final two years of his deal.
On an interview Wednesday with 107.5 The Game, Tanner praised Martin for his energy and said his teams are “hard to beat.” But he also said there’s an expectation for USC sports to compete in the postseason.
“I think that we’re in a position that we should be making tournament appearances,” Tanner said. “And there’s been some inconsistencies (with men’s basketball). And it’s hard to understand for me personally. I look back and you go, ‘We were close a few times,’ but we didn’t get in. And we have the resources, the opportunities to recruit at a high level that we should be able to do that.
“That’s not blaming anybody or pointing fingers because history is documented.”
With this season hanging in the balance, Martin has said he’s taken a one-game-at-a-time approach with his players. But for veterans like Reese, Stevenson, Keyshawn Bryant and Couisnard, the sense of urgency and importance of this next stretch of games is already obvious.
Even though USC’s last two wins came against the bottom two teams in the SEC, there are signs that the Gamecocks could be clicking. Bryant has played his best basketball in the last three games, averaging 18.7 points in those games. And the freshman Carter has established himself as a scoring threat alongside him, leading the charge in both of USC’s most recent wins.
Though the Gamecocks don’t boast the raw NBA talent of a Kentucky or an Auburn, they’ve shown some veteran moxie. It’s fitting that Stevenson recognized the last-second broken play at Ole Miss and that Reese executed the final shot — because those two veterans have been the team’s clear leaders from the opening tip of the season.
The Gamecocks have a chance at the NCAA tournament — yes, a chance — but it’ll be up to those veterans to carry them there.
“We have a five-game season left,” Stevenson said. “Obviously it’d be great to win all of them to put us in that conversation. But we’re fighting for our lives, man. We are playing for our season. Seniors are playing for their last go at it. And we’re trying to put ourselves in a position to make a run in March, starting with the SEC tournament.
“Hopefully our name is called on Selection Sunday.”
Next USC men’s basketball game
Who: South Carolina vs. LSU
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia
Watch: SEC Network
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 5:05 PM.
