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BUBBLE BANTER: Is South Carolina trying to play their way out of the dance?

Frank Martin

South Carolina head coach Frank Martin questions an official’s call during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Georgia Thursday, March 3, 2016, in Columbia, S.C. Georgia defeated South Carolina 74-72. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

AP

Is South Carolina (KP: 55, RPI: 37, CBT: 8) trying to play themselves out of the tournament?

Because the Gamecocks lost at home to Georgia on Thursday, meaning they’ve now lost two in a row and four of their last six, a stretch where they’ve suffered three of their five sub-75 losses this season.

That’s not good. Neither is the fact that South Carolina has as many sub-100 losses (three) as they do top 50 wins. The only one of those top 50 wins that can be considered “elite” is their win at Texas A&M, who has been sputtering down the stretch of the season as well. The Gamecocks do have a record of 22-7, but that number is not quite as impressive when you look at their schedule strength: it’s 168 over an right around 300 in the non-conference.

Frank Martin’s club is probably still in the tournament at this point, but I would really recommend avoiding a loss at Arkansas this weekend.

WINNERS


  • Temple (KP: 93, RPI: 58, CBT: 12): Temple beat Memphis, which means that they have not yet eliminated themselves from the at-large discussion. The Owls have a weird profile. They didn’t pick up any big wins out of conference and they lost to Houston, Memphis and East Carolina in league, but they also swept UConn and swept Cincinnati while splitting with Tulsa and beating SMU. Is that going to be enough for them to get in?

LOSERS


  • Cincinnati (KP: 29, RPI: 51, CBT: Play-in Game): The Bearcats dropped another road game on Thursday, falling to Houston, who may actually be the hottest team in the conference. The best win on the Bearcat résumé right now is at VCU, who is currently sitting at 43rd in the RPI. They have to win against SMU this weekend.
  • UConn (KP: 28, RPI: 53, CBT: 11): The Huskies were absolutely demolished at SMU on Thursday night, their second straight loss and third in the last four games. Kevin Ollie’s crew is probably OK as of today, thanks in large part to a win over SMU and a win at Texas.