There might not be a NCAA Tournament or NIT this year, but it's never too early to get a jump on the Bracketology for next basketball season.

And, as one ESPN analyst thinks, the Gamecocks have a shot to be competing in the Big Dance.

Joe Lunardi put out his "Way-Too-Early" March Madness with the Gamecocks included in the field of 65.

Lunardi has the Gamecocks as a No. 11-seed playing in the play-in game in Dayton, Ohio against another No. 11 seed Colorado.

If the Gamecocks won, they'd be traveling to Detroit to take on projected No. 6 seed Texas in a bracket that also included Villanova, Duke, Michigan Stat and West Virginia as the top four seeds in the bracket.

South Carolina put itself in a position to make the NCAA Tournament with some in the SEC Tournament before college basketball was canceled, although the NIT was more likely at that point.

They finished the season 18-13, 10-8 in the SEC, and there is a lot of reason for optimism moving forward.

Even if AJ Lawson goes pro, the Gamecocks would still return nine of their top 11 minute getters and scorers.

If Lawson doesn't return, they're expected to bring back three of their five starters with the majority of their bench players being freshmen or sophomores last season. They also bring in two signees (Patrick Iriel and Ja'Von Benson) and bring Seventh Woods into the fold as well.