Frank Martin on tournament hopes: 'Go win two on the road'
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL
South Carolina’s tournament hopes took a big blow Tuesday with the Gamecocks not able to complete a comeback over Alabama, but Frank Martin isn’t too hung up on that right now.
He knows the Gamecocks’ are fighting an uphill battle right now but he’s focused on the only thing he can be right now, and that’s winning games.
“Does this kind of knock us back a little bit? Of course it does,” Martin said. “But go win two on the road. Go win two on the road and we’re playing Georgia at home we’re right back in the middle of the whole thing. We can control who we are. We can’t control what other people think. We can’t control what we can control.”
Also see: Practice observations: early defensive depth chart
The Gamecocks (14-14, 9-6 SEC) are still fourth in the SEC currently with three games to play but are on the outside looking in with all of the tournament projections right now.
They’re currently ranked No. 87 in the new NET rankings, down seven spots after Tuesday’s loss.
They had chances in back-to-back games against NET top 50 teams in Mississippi State and Alabama but lost both games to slide back to .500 overall and three games over .500 in the SEC.
Martin said he’s not paying any attention to bracket talk through this stretch run saying it changes so much from game to game so he can’t get wrapped up in any of the speculation right now.
“If we had won today, you think (Joe) Lundari puts us in the tournament?” Martin said. “I was told that if we had beaten Mississippi State, that puts us in the tournament. That’s what he said the night after the Mississippi state game: if we had won today that gets us a little closer. If we won today and lose two on the road, where’s that put us? So let’s go win on the road.”
Also see: Scoop on a few newcomers from spring practice
According to Team Rankings, South Carolina currently has a 7.1 percent chance to make the NCAA Tournament currently. That goes up to 44.4 percent chance with 18 wins and skyrockets to 85.3 percent if they pick up 19 wins.
Winning out in the regular season gives them 17 wins, meaning the Gamecocks need at least one win, probably two, in the SEC tournament to solidify any remaining hopes of the postseason.
“We have three more games to play and a conference tournament,” Martin said. “There are plenty of opportunities. There’s no such thing as overreacting to winning and losing and in/out until the season’s over. As long as there are games to play, we’re there.”
Also see: Notes on the Gamecocks NET ranking, NCAA tourney odds
The Gamecocks have three games left and, if they win out, will secure the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament and a double-bye.
They have two rematches against teams they’ve beat previously this year coming up—at Missouri and Texas A&M—before finishing the regular season at home against Georgia then going to the SEC Tournament.
“Win the rest of the games. We lost,” Chris Silva said Tuesday. “We’re not going to go out and dwell on it. We have to get back in the gym, work and try to win the rest of the games.”
