South Carolina came out on the wrong side of the NCAA tournament bubble as the Gamecocks were one of the first four teams left out of the field.
USC was dealt some bad luck when upsets occurred during other conference tournaments, but the Gamecocks should have never been in the position to be sweating while hoping for a bid.
A bad Selection Monday used to mean the Columbia Regional was paired with a tough team in the supers. Two of the past three years it has meant if the Gamecocks want to attend the NCAA tournament they will have to buy a ticket.