The South Carolina Gamecock men's basketball team was not invited to play at the NIT.
South Carolina (18-13, 9-9 SEC) bounced from its first game in the SEC tournament on Thursday, losing 73-51 to Mississippi State.
"I've never been on a team that scored 12 percent for the half, this is my first time," coach Frank Martin said after the loss in Tampa.
"Our draws come aggressively all year round when teams hit us hard on the periphery. Mississippi State has size and athleticism on the periphery. ... Whenever you're playing basketball, if people are going to hound you on the periphery So you have to get the ball inside the defense in the paint. That has been our weak point throughout the year. We can't score in the paint."
Martin, who has coached Gamecock since 2012, has a record of 171–147 during his time at Colombia. Only two of their teams have been selected for the post-season tournaments.
South Carolina made the last four in 2017. A year earlier, Gamecock was selected to play at the NIT. That team finished 25-9 (11-7 sec). The final four squads went 26-11 (12-6 sec). In each of the five seasons since then, Martin's teams have won no more than 18 games.
However, three of the top six teams in the SEC have finished with a .500 or better record in league play. Of course, this also includes the 2021-22 team.
Four SEC teams were selected for this year's NITs: Vanderbilt (17–16, 7–11), Florida (19–13, 8–8), Mississippi State (18–15, 8–10) and Texas A. & M (23-11), 9-9).
South Carolina lost 2–0 against Vanderbilt, 1–0 against Texas A&M, and 1–2 against Mississippi State. Florida defeated Gamecock in their only matchup.
Jermaine Cuisnard would finish the season as the team's leading scorer (12.0 points per game), just ahead of Eric Stevenson, who averaged 11.6. James Reese was the second double-digit scorer (10.4).
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