It was a great run and would have made for a great story line but it was not the ending of USC’s improbable run that grabbed coach Dave Odom’s attention. It was that the Gamecocks, who were one loss from finishing in last place in the SEC East, made it all the way to the SEC Championship Game. “They did an extraordinary thing. They answered the bell every day,” he said. “They fell 2 points short of the championship, but they measured up in every other way.” USC, however, also fell slightly short of an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gamecocks, whose only chance to make the field of 65 was to earn the league’s automatic bid, will return to the NIT for the second consecutive year. They will play Western Kentucky at home in the first round on Wednesday, and let’s all hope that they can make a nice run to the NIT Finals like last year.
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