In a season made up of stops and starts and body blows to the Gamecock men’s basketball roster, South Carolina was dealt their latest rib shot.

Both Jermaine Couisnard and Justin Minaya will miss Wednesday’s game at Tennessee (9 p.m., SEC Network) after suffering injuries in the Ole Miss game.

“It’s the life we live,” Martin said. “That’s why everyone has to be prepared. That’s why as a coach it’s your job to prepare everybody, not just the popular guys on social media or with the fan base. It’s my job to your so-called star and prepare the walk-on that never gets in the game…Next man up is a popular term with a lot of coaches but that’s the life we live.”

Couisnard left the first half with 10 minutes to go against the Rebels with an apparent ankle injury, not able to put weight on it as he went back to the locker room.

The redshirt sophomore guard came down wrong after going up for a rebound and didn’t return to the bench.

Minaya left the game late in the second half after colliding with AJ Lawson in the air on a loose ball.

The loss is big for South Carolina, which now loses two of its top four scorers heading into Wednesday night against No. 19 Tennessee in Knoxville.

Both Couisnard and Minaya had started every game this season and now the Gamecocks will have to find two new starters for tomorrow night.

While Couisnard's production has dipped this season, Martin's said multiple times the guard is one of the few players who's connected to that system and what the coaching staff is asking of him.

Now, the Gamecocks will need to find someone else who can be that voice on the court.

“Seventh Woods has been a lot better over the last couple weeks than what he was when we reconvened in January from that standpoint. AJ Lawson’s grown tremendously as a basketball player from that standpoint," Martin said. "It is what it is. It gives someone an opportunity. Jermaine grabbed my attention from that standpoint. That opens the door for another voice to take this opportunity and figure out to grab my ears and eyes than maybe before.”

Keyshawn Bryant, who is averaging 26.4 minutes per game in league play, seems like the easiest decision (he started the second half against Ole Miss with Couisnard out) but finding someone to fill Minaya’s role will be trickier.

Jalyn McCreary is averaging 14.9 minutes in SEC play but no other big is averaging more than 7.1.

Martin said he’s not sure what he’s going to do in terms of a starting lineup just yet, and that decision won’t get made until Wednesday afternoon.

“We practiced a certain way yesterday. I’m not going to tell you I liked it but I wasn’t completely in love with what I saw,” he said. “I’m going to digest it, think about it and tomorrow’s shoot around I’ll make a decision.”