Losing is never fun or pleasant, but if ever a loss could be forgotten and put into the past, this one on Thursday night is a very good example. The Trojans fell to Oregon in a game the Ducks controlled from start to finish. It’s not a game USC could have or should have won. Nothing about this game felt right … and that was before tipoff. With Reese Dixon-Waters and Joshua Morgan both unable to play, USC was shorthanded to begin with. Everything snowballed from there.
Oregon was playing for its NCAA Tournament hopes, which were on life support. The Ducks displayed appropriate urgency at home. USC didn’t have a deep bench, and so when Vince Iwuchukwu got into foul trouble for the second straight game, the dominoes kept falling. Kobe Johnson picked up early fouls. Tre White got into foul trouble. Andy Enfield had to go to his unproven bench by necessity more than by choice. A team with minimal margin for error lost its main resources.
Murphy’s Law and Oregon reigned.
It was one of those nights for a USC team which didn’t have to win this game in Eugene at all costs.
The game USC has to win is Saturday in Corvallis against a very, very bad Oregon State squad.
The Trojans played a terrible game, didn’t get any breaks, and had a thin bench. Burn the film of this game, travel to Corvallis, and grab a necessary win. That’s all USC needs to think about after a forgettable night in Matthew Knight Arena.
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