Earlier in the week Frank Martin mentioned there were a few lingering injuries he was worried about going into the SEC Tournament and Thursday we found out who.

The Gamecocks were without three key players against Ole Miss—Keyshawn Bryant, Jermaine Couisnard and Seventh Woods—and were tasked to play a game shorthanded against a good Rebels team.

Woods and Couisnard were both dealing with known injuries while Bryant's absence was more of a shock, although Martin said all three were hampered physically and mentally.

“All three are dealing with physical injuries and the mental toll it’s taken on all three is just not fair. It’s been extremely difficult," Martin said postgame. "At the end of the day, I’m not going to put winning games over young people’s mental health or young people’s physical health."

Woods's absence was listed by the SEC Network as a groin injury while Couisnard and Bryant were out due to what network called "coach's decisions."

Couisnard missed the regular season finale Saturday with a rib injury as well.

Martin said he wanted to prioritize mental and physical health and held those guys out of the game, and that it was nothing disciplinary.

“I’m going to look out for my players under all circumstances. They need to be at a place where they’re at peace and enjoy the moment and the game," he said. "I’m going to protect players first and foremost. I’m never going to put wining a game over what’s right for a young person."

Without them the Gamecocks (6-15, 4-13 SEC) lost by 17 to Ole Miss to get eliminated from the tournament and see their season end.

"The guys that came to play today were great in practice and competitive early but we just couldn’t sustain it," Martin said. "That’s what cost us. It wasn’t lack of depth.”

This was an incredibly difficult year for South Carolina, dealing with COVID and a wealth of other issues both on the court and off of it with wins hard to come by, especially late in the season.

"I have to reevaluate the decisions I made to figure out if I handled things the right way. I’m talking about once we got back from COVID on January 18," Martin said. "Obviously the decisions I made didn’t work."