Over the course of USC’s undefeated begin, with its star freshman nonetheless out, its level guard nursing an ailing shoulder and one in all its finest defenders down due to an injured hip, coach Eric Musselman nonetheless managed to make the very best of his ravaged roster.
No. 24 USC had received eight straight, sweeping its nonconference slate, together with the Maui Invitational. It then received its Large Ten opener at Oregon. Despite all they’d misplaced, the Trojans hadn’t simply remained intact — they regarded as robust, by way of the season’s first month, as they needed to date underneath Musselman. It felt just like the type of begin able to rewriting expectations.
Then got here the second half of USC’s Large Ten house opener Saturday at Galen Middle, when all of it unraveled in a surprising 84-76 collapse to Washington.
“We’ve got to play quite a bit higher,” Musselman stated. “Once you’re down three individuals as proficient as our three guys, you’ve gotta step up and play. That’s what we’ve got to do.”
That the defeat got here by the hands of former Trojans level guard Desmond Claude solely made it more durable to swallow. It was greater than seven months in the past that Claude, the Trojans’ main scorer final season, left USC scrambling by leaving on the ultimate day of the switch portal window. Now he was sporting purple, reminding Musselman and Co. of what may need been.
It was Claude who got here alive within the ultimate minutes, giving the Huskies simply the catalyst they wanted to catch as much as USC, which led for all however six minutes. In truth the Trojans had an 11-point lead with lower than eight minutes remaining.
Claude practically closed that hole himself, scoring 18 of his 22 factors in a unprecedented second-half efficiency. With lower than 5 minutes remaining, Claude crossed up USC ahead Ezra Ausar and drove to the ring, dropping a floater off the excessive glass to tie the rating at 68.
It was a dizzying, disheartening fall from there for the Trojans. Washington freshman Hannes Steinbach (24 factors) hit a three-pointer on the Huskies’ subsequent possession. Claude adopted with one in all his personal. All of the sudden the Trojans had been down two possessions in a recreation they led by 18 at halftime.
How the sport reached that time was an indictment of USC’s second-half effort, which regarded nothing like its first-half efficiency. USC regarded primed to run away with the sport after sixth-year senior Chad Baker-Mazara poured in 14 factors forward of the break. However nothing went proper from there.
“We simply acquired too snug,” guard Jordan Marsh stated. “Plain and easy.”
Musselman was extra blunt.
“I believed, on each side of the ball, we stunk,” he stated.
That was maybe placing it properly. After capturing 50% from the sphere within the first half, USC (8-1 total, 1-1 Large Ten) shot a paltry 25% within the second. Washington, in the meantime, shot 59% after halftime — 25% higher than the opening half.
The Huskies (6-3, 1-1) additionally pulled down greater than twice as many rebounds (25) as USC (12) and scored twice as many factors within the paint (20) as USC (10) after halftime.
“They simply killed us on the glass,” Marsh stated.
USC guard Jordan Marsh drives in opposition to Washington within the first half Saturday.
(Ethan Swope / Related Press)
Marsh was USC’s solely vivid spot throughout that stretch. With the remainder of the Trojans making simply 5 photographs from the sphere within the second half, Marsh poured in 10 factors.
He hit a 3 with lower than two minutes remaining to chop the deficit to 3 and provides USC a glimmer of hope, just for Claude to instantly extinguish it seconds later, driving for a lay-in, getting fouled and making the free throw.
It was as demoralizing a ultimate stretch because the Trojans have skilled underneath Musselman, whose frustration after the collapse was clear. He pointed to the absence of level guard Rodney Rice, freshman Alijah Arenas and Amarion Dickerson — who’s anticipated to overlook three to 4 months after hurting a hip in opposition to Oregon — as a part of the explanation why USC couldn’t climate its second-half struggles.
However with all three more likely to stay out within the coming weeks, he additionally acknowledged that “no person cares” in regards to the hurdles they’ve to beat.
They cleared most of them — till the second half Saturday.
“I hope this can be a studying expertise for our group,” Musselman stated. “They’re nonetheless figuring stuff out. Some guys in that locker room are tremendous disillusioned. Others, we’ve got to seek out out if they’re or not.”
