The odds were always going to be slim.
After the penultimate game of South Carolina's season, head coach Frank Martin said that if his Gamecocks found a way to beat No. 5 Auburn on the road he didn't see how South Carolina could be left out of the NCAA Tournament.
That feat proved too difficult to accomplish, as South Carolina lost the final regular-season game of the year to Bruce Pearl's Tigers by a score of 82-71. With the win, the Tigers (27-4, 15-3) finished a perfect 16-0 at home this season and clinched the regular season SEC title.
Coming into the game outside of the NCAA Tournament picture with a 91 NET ranking, the Gamecocks will now need to make a deep run in next week's SEC tournament — if not win it outright — to have a chance at the NCAA Tournament. An appearance in the NIT is a more realistic outcome at this stage.
"We're a good team; there's nothing to reset," Martin said. "It's just kind of take a deep breath and trust in who we've become. The season teaches you to win or teaches you to lose, and this team obviously is a winning team.
"We've played really good basketball coming down the stretch. And we just came into the building that probably has the best home-court environment in the SEC right now ... and we went nose to nose with them."
Here's what went wrong for the Gamecocks.
Auburn's Smith, Kessler dominate
There's a reason Auburn has been one of the top teams in the country this season.
The Tigers are led by two projected NBA draft first-rounders in forward Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler, and both players brought their best to the court on Saturday.
Smith, projected to go No. 2 overall in ESPN's latest NBA mock draft, stuffed the stat sheet against the Gamecocks (18-12, 9-9 SEC), scoring 21 points, making three 3-pointers and pulling down six rebounds.
Kessler, the 7-foot-1 transfer from North Carolina, was a domineering presence in the paint, much like he was in the first meeting between the two teams on Jan. 4, when the Tigers won, 81-66. Kessler posted 11 points Saturday, adding six rebounds and two blocks.
Auburn defense smothers Gamecocks
The Tigers came into the game ranking seventh on KenPom.com in adjusted defensive efficiency, and they showed just how difficult they can be to solve by clamping down early. The team's guards pressured South Carolina's backcourt on the perimeter, leading them into the hands of Kessler and Smith near the rim.
The Gamecocks didn't make their first field goal until six minutes into the game, and by that point they already had five turnovers.
Led by veteran guards James Reese (18 points) and Jermaine Couisnard (22 points), the Gamecocks flashed moments of offensive competency. In the first half, the Gamecocks cut the deficit to just two points, before the Tigers immediately responded with a 7-0 run in less than a minute. In the second half, South Carolina rallied to cut the Auburn lead to under 10 points a couple of times, and they cut it to seven points with just 1:16 left. But they failed to sustain offensive rhythm against the burly, physical Tigers.
The late push gave the Gamecocks some confidence heading into next week's tournament.
"I feel like we're all fighters," Couisnard said. "I feel like that fight that we just had just gives us momentum, just gives us more courage that we can play with anybody in the country. So when we get to Tampa, we'll just bring that energy and we'll be fine."
Frontcourt falters
It's been a recurring theme for South Carolina all season long. Martin has expressed frustration with the production of his big men and especially with starting junior center Wildens Leveque, who has regressed after a strong finish to last season.
On Saturday, that frustration seemed to reach a boiling point. Leveque played just two minutes and was dunked on by Kessler and committed a foul. Martin pulled him from the game in favor of freshman Ta'Quan Woodley, and Leveque never saw the court again, with Woodley starting in place of him in the second half. Martin said the benching of Leveque was not due to injury.
"Watching him play has made my eyes hurt," Martin said. "So you can say the injury is my eyesight."
In Leveque's place, Martin turned to Woodley and 7-foot sophomore Josh Gray, who played his most minutes in a game since fracturing his wrist Feb. 1 against Mississippi State. Both Gray and Woodley pulled down six rebounds apiece, but neither could keep pace with Auburn's high-powered duo of Kessler and Smith.
