Once again, South Carolina basketball left out of NCAA Tournament projections

College basketball news can be slow this time of year. There is still just over three months before the first games of the season (the South Carolina basketball schedule begins with a November 4th home contest against the North Florida Ospreys), and practices are not covered nearly as closely as offseason football workouts. Most conferences don't even hold their league's basketball media days until a few weeks before the season tips.

Still, though, there are offseason headlines for the dedicated fan. Other than recruiting—which is an entirely different animal—most of these offseason news nuggets come from analysts generating lists, rankings, and projections. One such offseason article might interest Gamecock fans but not in a good way.

On Tuesday, ESPN's Joe Lunardi put out his latest NCAA Tournament bracketology, and, once again, he has left Lamont Paris' South Carolina basketball team out of the discussion.

Included in Lunardi's projection are ten SEC teams as the Alabama Crimson Tide (1-seed), Auburn Tigers (2-seed), Tennessee Volunteers (4-seed), Texas Longhorns (4-seed), Arkansas Razorbacks (5-seed), Texas A&M Aggies (5-seed), Kentucky Wildcats (6-seed), Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-seed), Florida Gators (9-seed), and Ole Miss Rebels (9-seed) made the field and the Georgia Bulldogs (#1 in "first four out") just missed the cut. The rival Clemson Tigers (8-seed) also made Lunardi's latest offseason bracketology.

The Gamecocks have much higher expectations for themselves for the 2024-2025 season. After finishing tied for 2nd in the SEC and earning a 6-seed in last year's NCAA Tournament, USC has its eyes set on making back-to-back tourneys for the first time since the 1990s. Strong recruiting efforts (both from the high school ranks and via the transfer portal) have many South Carolina basketball fans believing that it can happen.

The 2024-2025 version of the Gamecocks returns their top NBA prospect in sophomore forward Collin Murray-Boyles, their top on-ball defender in Zach Davis, and their best 3-point threat on the wing in Myles Stute. Nick Pringle (Alabama Crimson Tide), Jamarii Thomas (Norfolk State Spartans), and Jordan Butler (Missouri Tigers) come over through the transfer portal to fill the main holes on the roster, and 4-star freshman Cam Scott has superstar potential.

Making the NCAA Tournament is far from a guarantee for Carolina this season, but they have too much potential to continue being ignored by Lunardi and the rest of the national media.