South Carolina Basketball: Keys to the Gamecocks winning the SEC Tournament

South Carolina Basketball's Keys to Success in the SEC Tournament:
Getting a little lucky

In a tournament filled with as many talented teams as the SEC Tournament, no one wins without a little bit of luck.

Whether it's having a few referee calls go your way (South Carolina basketball fans view that as extremely unlikely), getting a couple of circus shots to fall, or having a talented opponent knocked out of the tournament field early, in a competitive league like the SEC, the Gamecocks will have to catch a few breaks.

In the 2016-2017 Final Four run (the most recent tournament run of any kind for the Gamecocks), South Carolina didn't necessarily have luck bounce their way in terms of opponents faced (they took on Marquette, Duke, Baylor, and Florida before the Final Four), but they did have some "shooting luck" in which they performed at a much more efficient rate offensively than the rest of the season.

In that same run, Carolina experienced some bad luck, as well. Sindarius Thornwell was sick for the Final Four matchup against Gonzaga. Carolina lost by 4 points, and fans everywhere (probably rightfully) believe that a healthy Thornwell equals a National Championship Game opportunity. Avoiding bad luck like sickness and injury will be important, as well.