Martin, USC will tread carefully with Carrera as SEC Tourney prep begins
Because South Carolina earned a double bye in this week’s SEC Tournament, the Gamecocks will not take the court again for basketball battle until late Friday night when they face the winner of Thursday’s Georgia-Mississippi State first-round matchup at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
As a result, leading scorer and rebounder Michael Carrera (14.5 ppg, 7/7 rpg) has time to heal after missing the final regular season game at Arkansas with a hip injury.
Frank Martin, though, insisted Monday he won’t rush Carrera back if he is not completely healthy just for the sake of letting him play. After all, Friday will not mark the Gamecocks final basketball game for the 2015-16 season. The pressure-packed NCAA Tournament, which begins March 17, and the opportunity to make a national splash awaits.
“He was a lot better yesterday (Sunday) than he was the day before and the day before that,” Martin said of Carrera on the weekly SEC coaches teleconference. “That’s how those kind of injuries work. We’ll have a better feel when we get to Wednesday or Thursday as to how we will manage this week.”
Martin is confident Carrera will do everything within his power to properly rehab the hip injury and get ready to play on Friday night. But if he doesn’t play, the Gamecocks will roll on, whether in Nashville or some unknown destination in next week’s NCAA Tournament.
“Knowing Michael, if there is a way he can play, he’s going to fight me if I don’t let him play,” Martin said. “But if he is not healthy enough, I think we have put ourselves into a pretty good spot for playing past this week. So, we will rest him for as long as we need to in order to make sure he is healthy when he gets on the court and can remain healthy.”
According to most NCAA Tournament bracketologists, Saturday’s road win at Arkansas secured a coveted spot in the 68-team field for the Gamecocks. The SEC Tournament can add to the wave of momentum generated from the road win in Fayetteville.
“You want to be playing your best basketball this time of the year,” Martin said. “There is no doubt about that. You work all year to prepare your team for this week coming up (conference tournament) and for those of us lucky enough, the week after (NCAA Tourney). There is no set formula, (post-season) basketball is a completely different set of emotions and a different mindset. It’s different excitement than what you have in January and February.”
The Gamecocks have won two games in each of the last two SEC Tournaments, and Martin is hoping that experience carries over into this season.
“The experience of post-season is irreplaceable,” Martin said. “That’s something we have and hopefully it’s something we can dwell on and be prepared to utilize to our benefit in any way we possibly can.”
SEC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
FIRST ROUND - March 9 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #12 Tennessee vs. #13 Auburn
SECOND ROUND - March 10 (Thursday)
Game 2: #8 Florida vs. #9 Arkansas, 1 p.m.
Game 3: Tennessee/Auburn vs. #5 Vanderbilt, Approx. 3:40 p.m.
Game 4: #7 Ole Miss vs. #10 Alabama, 7 p.m.
Game 5: #6 Georgia vs. #11 Mississippi State, Approx. 9:40 p.m.
QUARTERFINALS - March 11 (Friday)
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs. #1 Texas A&M, 1 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs. #4 LSU, Approx. 2:40 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. #2 Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. #3 South Carolina, Approx. 9:40 p.m.
SEMIFINALS - March 12 (Saturday)
Game 10: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner
Game 11: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner
FINALS - March 13 (Sunday)
Game 12: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner
(All Times Eastern)
