COLUMBIA – Maybe this time is different. In a year when everything seems to have changed, but South Carolina men’s basketball has remained irritatingly the same, the result may be unexpected.
The Gamecocks defeated No. 22 Florida, 72-66, on February 3, their third consecutive victory in Gainesville and their first notable victory of the season. It was not surprising, as Frank Martin’s ninth team is a great mix of talent, veteran leadership and experience that can compete with anyone in the country.
That same team was stilted, 93-81, at Vanderbilt on 30 January. This was only Commodores’ fourth SEC victory in the past three seasons.
This has been the norm at USC for the past four years. Gamecocks prove that they can play strong games and beat big opponents, then lose to opponents who should have beaten them.
And now they are at the point where they have been so many times in the past three years, that is that the postseason could happen with a strong end-of-season streak. Leaving that Florida win and coming home to play a 10-9 Mississippi team, confidence is high, right?
Right. But confidence was also high many times over, with results not falling on the line.
“We have to enjoy tomorrow. That’s how we have to deal with it, ”said coach Frank Martin. “Our team’s talent is good enough to win games. We just need to figure out how to find that consistency and create that personality that we lack. We were missing before closing (COVID-19), and since then. We are beginning to see some moments when we show this. “
The USC has been chased in recent years, staying in position and losing many games, usually to smaller opponents, which keeps it out of consideration. There was the infamous defeat to Stetson last year, a game after defeating the current Virginia national champion at home. There were four straight losses in the previous season, starting with a loss in Wyoming, only to turn around and win five straight before LSU beat Gamecocks by 22 points.
Leaving their third and final break for COVID this year, the Gamecocks played very well in a defeat at LSU, running out of gas in the final eight minutes. Then they were surprised in Missouri, perhaps the best team in the league, and embarrassed by Auburn.
They went on crushing Georgia, then winning in Florida. Only in the middle was the loss of Vanderbilt.
“At the moment, it’s just another big win,” said point guard Justin Minaya. “Whatever happened in the past doesn’t really matter. It won’t help us now. Join this MSU game and practice really well today. “
Martin said there are several chances to win and build the strength of the schedule for the NCAA Tournament selection committee to take note of. He’s right, as the games against No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 18 Missouri await.
They are part of a stretch of eight games to end the season, but that is only for the current schedule. COVID-19 can always force a switch, cancel or add some of the SEC games that USC lost earlier in the year, and as it stands, there is no definitive word on whether the SEC tournament will be played.
Ditto the criteria that will be used for the NCAA Tournament this year or, even when the course is defined, whether this will be the course that will actually play due to the trip and the tests that must take place. All that is known is that in a tournament in which Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas and Michigan State will have to fight to get to the spot, the USC’s 5-6 record is now no deterrent.
“I don’t even know if a roller coaster is the right word. It is something bigger than that. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced, ”said Martin. “Achieving this victory makes us feel good, so we can find a way to maintain hope and the wellness mentality that allows you to come back and do it again tomorrow.”
That tomorrow is the state of Mississippi and a reminder to keep all hands in the car.
Follow David Cloninger on Twitter @DCPandC.