South Carolina basketball learns its NIT destiny. The Gamecocks’ season is over
On Sunday, the Gamecocks found out they didn’t make the NIT. It marks the second one instantly the year USC arrived on the chosen day with a chance only to be denied from the 32-group area. Carolina finishes with a 16-sixteen document. Frank Martin’s bunch went 17-sixteen last year, but parts of this 12 months’ résumé are regarded as presenting the Gamecocks with a better shot. After a sluggish first month, they rebounded, utilizing going 11-7 and incomes the No. Four seed for the SEC Tournament. They gained seven video games towards “quadrant one” and “quadrant two” opposition — see victories over Florida (road), Auburn, Mississippi State, Texas A&M (street), Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Georgia (avenue) — and even placed themselves in NCAA Tournament dialogue. They entered Sunday with a NET rating of eighty-one.
However, the general document became too difficult to overcome. Since the selection committee best acknowledges wins over Division I opponents, USC, which beat D-II North Greenville on Dec. 31, became 15-16 in their eyes. While no rule may call for a group to be .500 or higher for the NIT, the event has simply by no means taken a group with that type of record. Carolina had a good threat to improve its status this week in Nashville but, coming off a double-bye, misplaced to Auburn on Friday in an SEC Tournament quarterfinal game. The fifth-seeded Tigers went on to win the SEC Tournament championship. “The bottom line is we didn’t win enough to get into the NCAA Tournament,” Martin stated on Friday. “By me saying that we’re doesn’t imply we belong. I’m just announcing we’re excellent enough to be in that. We diet don’t do sufficient earl within the 1,2 months to put ourselves in that scenario.
“But I think we were given an awesome team. I assume you ask everybody in our league that’s competed against us for the remaining two months; they’ll tell you we’re worthy of a postseason possibility.” No greater video games way Chris Silva’s South Carolina career is over. The two-time All-SEC ahead is leaving the Gamecocks tenth all-time in scoring, sixth in rebounds, third in free throws made, third in unfastened throws attempted, sixth in blocks, and fifth in games commenced. Martin is 129-106 after seven seasons as USC’s teacher. He moved past Eddie Fogler and Dave Odom this season because of the third-winningest train in Gamecock history. Among the anticipated Carolina returnees for 2019-20 are reigning All-SEC Freshman Team member A.J. Lawson and fellow promising rookie Keyshawn Bryant. Justin Minaya and T.J. Moss, starters for elements of 2018-19, are due again from harm.
