Could the SEC have 6 NCAA tournament Teams?
By Alex Miller
South Carolina Gamecocks
South Carolina may have picked up the biggest non-conference win in the SEC this season by beating then 9th ranked Iowa State in Brooklyn, 64-70. The Gamecocks also have a 75-49 blowout win over a solid Oklahoma State squad. Will this be the year South Carolina makes their first tournament appearance since 2004?
Former Kansas State head coach Frank Martin has turned the program in the right direction in only his 3rd year at the helm in Columbia. He’s done it by vastly improving the defense every year.
In his first season, South Carolina ranked 223rd in defensive efficiency by Kenpom. Last year, they rose to 115th, but this year, South Carolina’s defense is ranked 6th in the country. That defense helped hold Iowa State, one of the better 3 point shooting teams in the country, to 1-18 shooting from beyond the arc.
The gamecocks are led by their backcourt of Tyrone Johnson, Duane Notice, and Sindarius Thornwell. This trio of guards scored 41 of USC’s 64 points against Iowa State and actually outrebounded the bigs on the team.
South Carolina will need some more production from the paint as the season goes on but the defense should be good enough keep South Carolina’s winning ways going as they’ve won 7 in a row. The Gamecocks appear to be headed for an NCAA tournament berth.
Next: Florida Gators