In his pre-NCAA Tournament press conference, Frank Martin brought up an interesting parallel. At his previous stop at Kansas State and now at South Carolina, he was able to lead his teams to the Big Dance after long absences. South Carolina went thirteen years between trips and Kansas State’s previous trip before his first year in 2008 came in 1996.
The 2008 Michael Beasley-led 11-seed Wildcats defeated sixth-seeded Southern Cal 80-67 before being dumped by Wisconsin in the second round. Martin’s never lost in the first round of the tournament - including an Elite Eight appearance in 2010.