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College basketball: SEC out to place more teams in tourney

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — South Carolina coach Frank Martin led the Gamecocks to 24 wins before Selection Sunday last season.

Yet due to a soft non-conference schedule and some erratic play down the stretch, South Carolina settled for an NIT bid rather than a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

“They told me we’ve got to win more,” Martin said at SEC basketball media day Wednesday. “But we just won 24. Maybe we have to win 46.”

South Carolina is Exhibit A for the perception problem pertaining to SEC basketball. In a football-mad conference, basketball hasn’t gained traction league-wide since the 1980s and 1990s.