South Carolina basketball: Georgia win proves Gamecocks aren't 'laying down' during stretch run
South Carolina head coach Frank Martin didn’t shy away from it.
Asked about his team potentially packing things in after a third-straight league loss by at least 10 points, Martin said matter-of-factly the next few days would tell him a lot about his team.
If that is the case, then he should be encouraged moving forward after a 12-point win at Georgia.
“It was very important for us to come out here and play with some kind of aggression,” Keyshawn Bryant said. “After last game we felt like we kind of quit towards the end. This game and the last few practices determined what type of team we are.”
The Gamecocks (14-10, 5-7 SEC) snapped a losing streak with the win, looking like the team it looked like in second halves against Georgia, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.
A loss Saturday would have meant a Quad III loss to a last place Georgia team, but that didn’t happen despite South Carolina having reasons to allow losses to spiral.
They had lost their last three games by an average of 16 points and saw a slim chance at an at-large berth go on life support.
A win against Georgia won’t be a feather in any resume but the Gamecocks got a big win and did it looking good at times.
“I’ve told you guys from day one I really like this team,” Martin said. “I like the makeup on this team; I like the personalities on this team. They didn’t disappoint.
South Carolina still has plenty of work to do to even sniff the postseason: NCAA, NIT or otherwise. But a win Saturday was at least a step in the right direction.
KenPom still projects the Gamecocks to finish 16-14 overall and 7-11 in the SEC. That would mean going 2-4 the rest of the way.
Any win now positions the Gamecocks better for the SEC Tournament where, regardless of what happens the final three weeks, there is work to be done.
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“This win was big time. We talked about having a good practice yesterday and a good shoot around today and having a good game to make us feel good going into the rest of the season so we can make a run in the tournament,” Devin Carter said. “This win was huge. We all came together as a team, said we needed it, and we went and did it.”
The way South Carolina won is the formula for its success in wins. They finished with 10 fast break points, 38 points in the paint and 18 second chance points.
Bryant and Carter combined for 43 points on 16-for-24 shooting. It was a welcomed development for the Gamecocks needing guys to step up offensively.
“I think we can be very dangerous, especially when we’re clamping up on defense and getting out in transition,” Bryant said. “We can be one of the most dangerous teams in the game.”
Does South Carolina not quitting mean they’re going to win out? No. The Gamecocks have tough games left. It starts Tuesday at Ole Miss, but not going down to Georgia was movement in the right direction.
“I haven’t coached the majority of this team through a season or a difficult moment like we were in when you lose three in a row late in a year,” Martin said. “I feel bad for anyone that things I’m going to lay down. Wrong guy. That’s not me. I feel confident those guys I listed aren’t going to lay down either.”
