FRANK MARTIN’S PROGRAM WILL FACE SYRACUSE IN BROOKLYN THIS FALL
The University of South Carolina men’s basketball team barely missed out on the 2016 NCAA tournament … like, barely.
Meanwhile Syracuse made the cut for the “Big Dance” by the narrowest of margins.
Fair? Probably not …
The Orangemen (sorry, the “Orange”) made the most of their good fortune, though, romping all the way to the Final Four as a No. 10 seed before falling to North Carolina in the national semi-final game.
Now the programs who wound up on opposite sides of the NCAA bubble are scheduled to meet … part of Gamecock head coach Frank Martin‘s efforts to beef up last season’s weak non-conference slate (which probably cost South Carolina its first NCAA bid since 2004).
Martin’s Gamecocks will face Jim Boeheim‘s Syracuse squad at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on November 26 – part of the 2016 Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational.
South Carolina is 1-3 against Syracuse all-time, while Martin is 0-1 against the Orange. Of course the Gamecocks are 2-0 at the Barclays Center, including an upset over then No. 9 Iowa State two years ago.
Whoever winds up winning this game … we applaud Martin.
By aggressively pursuing a tougher non-conference schedule, he is not only strengthening the Gamecocks’ postseason resume – he is offering prospective recruits an additional primetime opportunity to showcase their skills.
After a disastrous first two seasons in Columbia, S.C., Martin’s squad broke even in 2014-15 and then took a major step forward last season – posting a 25-9 record (including an 11-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play). His willingness to schedule non-conference opponents like Syracuse signals to us that he has confidence in the direction of his program – which is hoping to win its first NCAA tournament game in more than four decades.
Our guess? Martin’s going to break that streak sooner rather than later …