South Carolina Coach Frank Martin had vowed to handle things differently the next time he had a chance to go to the Final Four.
He blamed himself for Kansas State’s failure to advance out of the round of 8 in 2010, when he was the Wildcats’ coach. He had committed a cardinal sin, by his standards, in the day between the round of 16 and the round of 8: He had lightened up his intensity in practice.
“I told myself, ‘If I’m ever in the same situation, I’ve got to practice our guys the way that we have trained for six months,’” Martin said.