COLOMBIA – There is still something to play for, and the effort has not been questioned.
Still, Saturday’s 93-78 loss to No. 20 Missouri, South Carolina’s fifth straight loss, began to stamp what this strange season always seemed to be since Gamecocks had to close for a month and a half. due to COVID-19. Coach Frank Martin said recently that it had been a long time for him to judge his team by victories and defeats, because they never had a chance to get in shape.
But after another one-sided defeat, which guarantees Martin’s first losing streak in seven years, except for a miraculous SEC Tournament championship (and therefore a postseason qualification) and just three regular season games to play, the rest of the season is a skid towards the end.
What that end will be is the question. Martin did things at USC that none of his predecessors have ever done, including the biggest achievement in the program’s history, the 2017 Final Four.
He just continues to pull away, with results like this year making it seem like a lot longer before the Gamecocks (5-11, 3-9 SEC) are in a position to come back. Sources told the Post and the Courier that the team’s COVID issues will be taken into account when Martin’s future is debated by management, but will not be used as a general excuse.
“We continue to look for someone to help us defend better. Defensively, we are in very bad shape,” said Martin. “We continue to have bad times in games from the point of view of giving up on some bad executions.”
A team with so much experience should be better than it is, and Gamecocks are not. They are not good at shooting or handling the ball, and although Martin’s intricate defense has certainly been affected by the breaks, almost the entire squad knows how it should be.
Missouri is having a resurgent season, filled with veterans who have played together for years, and although it lost three in a row before Saturday, much can be attributed to the absence of SEC Player of the Year Jeremiah Tilmon. He came back on Saturday, celebrated with Gamecocks’ undersized post-game, and when he didn’t, it was enough of a distraction to take how the USC almost needs to score – inside.
The first three Gamecock brands were on the edge. The next three, all jumpers, missed. Missouri (14-6, 7-6) relentlessly punished the interior of the USC, but after Trae Hannibal smoked three consecutive points to reach 20-17 Tigers in the first-half under-age time limit, the USC was there to maybe steal one in the end.
Missouri promptly scored the next eight points, ended the time with a 25-12 run and sent the few fans back to their cell phones. AJ Lawson swung a 40-foot ball at the buzzer, which exacerbated the situation: undermined by Mizzou’s defensive pressure, he hit the ball, but made three strokes before that, all within 12 meters.
“They were very good in training yesterday. I have no complaints,” said Martin. “Then the game starts … we hit snippets in games where we gave in defensively and played offensively very selfishly. It’s a bad recipe.”
Lawson led a charge early in the second half to reach the Gamecocks in seven minutes, with 10 minutes to go, but further changes, fouls and missed shots gave Missouri time to stretch the lead and return home.
While Gamecocks went back to work, wishing and wondering what will happen after an extremely disappointing season.
“This season is not over,” said Hannibal. “We just have to keep going. We have weakened a few times, we have had some losses, but this week coming up, we are going to reverse that. “
He looked confident.
Trust is all that’s left.
Nelson will not come back
Junior Nathan Nelson, a walk-on who recently arrived for playing several minutes and usually hitting a 3-point ball per game, will not be back next season. About to graduate, Nelson will enroll in law school.
He and Seventh Woods’ seventh oldest year were honored before the game.
Looking forward
USC arrives in Mississippi at 7pm on Wednesday.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.