Frank Martin gives tournament case for South Carolina before Auburn game
Frank Martin doesn’t shy away from what’s at stake for South Carolina moving forward.
He doesn’t focus too much on the NET, KPI, SOS and all the other algorithms, but knows the Gamecocks still have work to do to get into the NCAA Tournament. A win Saturday afternoon against Auburn, he thinks, could go a long way towards that bubble resume.
“I thought this was about winning and losing…Our strength of schedule will be top 25 in the country after Auburn. How’s that team not getting in the tournament if we can figure out a way to beat Auburn? That means we’d have seven wins away from home. Tell me another team that’s won seven away from home, five in league play. I can give you all kinds of real numbers and not the BS numbers lazy people use a computer to investigate,” Martin said.
“At the end of the day, the people who make these decisions I hope respect a team that wins 19 games—I’m making the assumption we win at Auburn—that wins 10 league games in the hardest league in the country, that wins on the road, that scheduled hard, scheduled away from home.”
As of Friday, South Carolina (18-11, 9-8 SEC) ranks No. 92 in the NET and also in the 80s or 90s in most predictive metrics. But there are some good metrics towards the tournament, ranking No. 66 in KPI, 46 in strength of record and 41 in strength of schedule.
They’re 2-7 in Quad I and 7-9 combined in Quad I or II games. Outside of the conference tournament, this is the Gamecocks’ last chance to pick up a Quad I win.
“This is not diving. That’s the thing that gets me with metrics and offensive efficiency being part of metrics and the NET. This isn’t diving or gymnastics. Just because someone does a triple somersault it shouldn’t count more than a guy that does two summersaults,” Martin said. “You either schedule good teams or you schedule bad teams. You either win or you lose. Style should not be part of rankings. I think that’s the biggest joke I ever heard. It is what it is.”
South Carolina played Auburn to start league play, coming back from a lengthy COVID break and ultimately losing 81-66 at Colonial Life Arena.
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If South Carolina wins at Auburn Saturday (1 p.m., SEC Network) it’ll also be the first home loss the Tigers have taken all year. They’re a perfect 15-0 game at home this season, 8-0 in the SEC. The last time they lost at home was late in the 2021 season.
“They make tough shots so we have to make it even tougher. We have to take care of the ball. They’re a team that gets up in you defensively and is physical with you,” James Reese said. “We have to take care of the ball and execute on offense and stick to our principles. We have to stay in line, pressure the ball and always be to the ball and don’t chase shooters off screens.”
The Gamecocks have a chance to surge up to the fifth or sixth seed in the SEC Tournament, which starts next week.
If not, the highest they can finish is sixth but a seven or eight seed is the likeliest scenario. Martin and his staff pay attention to who they might be matched up with, something that matters to him.
“It is all match-ups. There are teams I don’t like how we match up against them. I’m hoping we avoid those people,” Martin said. “I don’t live my life to make people in my life who don’t believe in me look bad…I live my life to make people who believe in me look good. Those players believe in me. I’m really happy that we have a chance to finish in the top half of the league.”
