SEC Basketball power rankings: Auburn rises, Arkansas starting to sink

We’re not living in the past, but we will take a moment to remember that this South Carolina program made the Final Four back in 2017. Unfortunately, that was the only NCAA Tournament bid that Frank Martin has achieved since taking over the Gamecocks program a decade ago. South Carolina isn’t necessarily a bad program, but you have to wonder if this team is ever going to breakthrough again, especially with the SEC as strong as ever this season.

This season, the Gamecocks didn’t exactly have a challenging slate during nonconference play. They lost to Princeton and got blown out by Coastal Carolina, but achieved some decent wins against UAB, Georgetown and Florida State. Their offense was nonexistent in losses to those Chanticleers and to rival Clemson last month. SEC play has been a bit better for the Gamecocks, who really struggled at home to Auburn but picked up a road win at Vanderbilt over this weekend.

South Carolina’s offense plays at a high tempo and can score a lot of points, but the Gamecocks rank in the bottom half of the nation, mostly because of some consistent shooting struggles. They’re getting double-digits scoring per game from juniors Erik Stevenson and Wildens Leveque, but they just don’t have the talent level to compete with some of these high-powered SEC programs. Looking ahead, there’s definitely going to be chances for the Gamecocks to pick up wins, but this is certainly another program you shouldn’t expect much from this season.