The decision got here Monday morning, simply six days earlier than USC was slated to play its last nonconference contest. In gentle of the lethal taking pictures on Brown’s campus, its males’s basketball crew wouldn’t make the journey west. If coach Eric Musselman hoped to check his Trojans once more earlier than the brand new 12 months, he and his USC workers had lower than 24 hours to discover a substitute.
Which is how USC discovered itself going through UC Santa Cruz, a 6-6 Division III crew with losses to Chapman, Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, on Sunday. USC had no bother overwhelming the Banana Slugs in a 102-63 victory. However given the scrambling it took to schedule Santa Cruz, nobody was complaining in regards to the seamless victory heading into the Trojans’ winter break.
Musselman, who notched his 250th profession win, initially hoped that USC might discover a D-1 program to take Brown’s place. However guidelines limiting the quantity of regular-season video games a D-1 program can play narrowed that record significantly. It left USC’s coaches counting by hand to determine which groups would match.
They first thought of all of the native colleges, solely to search out that none would work. They regarded into the groups going through native colleges — and couldn’t discover any there, both. They even checked out Hawaii’s schedule, since colleges that face Hawaii obtain an exemption to permit for an additional recreation.
Solely “a choose few” colleges match any of the standards, one individual inside this system informed The Instances. These groups might make it work as a result of they’d confronted a D-II or D-III crew sooner or later in the course of the season which didn’t depend towards its video games restrict. That additionally meant, in some circumstances, shopping for out their recreation contract with that faculty.
“There are some Division I colleges, we couldn’t get them to say sure, I don’t know why,” Musselman stated. “As a result of I believed it was an ideal alternative for some Division I colleges to, you realize, get assured cash.”
That was hardly the one complicating issue. By enjoying a Division I crew, Musselman stated, USC additionally ran the danger of affecting his crew’s power of schedule come event time. Even a smaller margin of victory might imply paying the value.
So why not simply cancel the sport?
Awaiting USC after a quick vacation break are street journeys to No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Michigan State. Musselman didn’t wish to begin that gauntlet coming off an additional 4 days away.
“From a basketball standpoint,” Musselman defined, “we might unwell afford tonight to start out our break.”
The workers spoke with scheduling specialists who agreed that there was one possibility that made sense for USC: Discover a crew from the decrease ranks of faculty basketball who was keen to take a beating for the Trojans to fill out their nonconference schedule. That method, the sport wouldn’t even register on USC’s event resume.
It was with all that standards in thoughts that Musselman and his workers settled on Santa Cruz. However the Banana Slugs, who voted as a crew to play the Trojans, didn’t simply roll over. They got here out firing from three-point vary, hitting eight within the first half alone. They’d hit simply eight photographs contained in the arc the whole recreation.
With seven minutes remaining within the first half, Santa Cruz was down simply three factors.
However finally, USC’s benefit in each different class besides exterior taking pictures would catch as much as Santa Cruz. The Trojans slammed house one alley-oop, then one other, then one other within the second half. They hit 18 of 19 to open the second half and dominated the glass, ending with a 36-rebound benefit.
Musselman made a degree to present extra minutes to 7-foot-5 heart Gabe Dynes, with a three-big lineup arising towards Michigan. Dynes responded with a team-leading 16 factors, together with 5 rebounds and 4 blocks, which Musselman stated was “an enormous step in the fitting course.”
The sport additionally gave new level guard Kam Woods an opportunity to get snug within the Trojans’ rotation. Woods missed all 5 of his photographs in 21 minutes however was grateful for his first hoops motion since March, when he performed with Robert Morris.
“I undoubtedly wanted this recreation,” Woods stated.
For the Trojans, it was a crucial tuneup heading into the break. Contemplating what it took to get it on the schedule, their coach was particularly grateful.
“Santa Cruz stepped up,” Musselman stated, “and I give them quite a lot of credit score. I actually do.”
