South Carolina basketball has one last game before the SECT.
It was a disappointing season for the South Carolina basketball team, with Gamecocks battling the problems of COVID on the way to a 6-13 overall record. The team saw several games canceled, including all but one dispute in December, and struggled to keep players and coaches on the court. The instability has been extremely frustrating for those following the program, as many classified Gamecocks as an NCAA tournament team in the preseason.
That frustration continued last night in a defeat for Arkansas. The Razorbacks broke out in a 101-73 defeat, resulting in the Gamecocks’ seventh defeat in eight games. Five of those defeats were decided by 15 points or more, the last 28 point loss being the worst of the season.
With the defeat, the team is now blocked in the 12th seed for next week’s SEC tournament, which means that Frank Martin’s group will play in the opening round against Texas A&M or Vanderbilt. It is the worst Gamecock conference result since the 2013-14 season.
South Carolina did not do very well with Frank Martin in the SEC tournament, regardless of the seed. Gamecocks were ranked # 3 and as low as # 13 for the start of the tournament, and in Martin’s previous eight seasons, his teams recorded a record of only 5-7 in SEC tournaments.
That number has dropped to just 1-4 in the past five years, despite Gamecocks finishing in the top half of the league’s ranking in four of those five seasons. Last year’s tournament was canceled before the Gamecocks clash with Arkansas due to COVID.
If you’re looking for good news, Frank Martin’s teams in Columbia are 5-4 as a double-digit seed, but still, Gamecocks failed to make it past the quarterfinals in any of those tournament races.
It will be a difficult task for South Carolina to achieve five consecutive victories at the conference, but it is the only option Gamecocks have if they want to play in the postseason, as a defeat practically ends the year.