The USC Trojans can alleviate a lot of bubble anxiety if they can beat the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday night, but of course, it won’t be easy to do that. USC needs to play its best game of the year.
Before going any further, you might say, “Hey, wait a minute! USC played its best game of the year in the win over UCLA!”
Maybe so, but if we’re being honest, that was much less of a well-played whole game, much more a case of playing the best half of basketball the Trojans have produced all season.”
USC was down 12 at halftime before exploding for a 52-27 second-half masterclass. That was a 20-minute piece of perfection.
Arizona will require a full 40-minute game. USC is not going to win if down 12 — or 10, or 15 — at the half.
In order to beat the U of A, Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson will need to play well, but the Trojans can’t win if their big men don’t do a good job.
Arizona’s best players are its big men, Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo. Opponents have dared the Wildcats’ guards to beat them while focusing on stopping Tubelis and Bello.
The big men are not the strength of the USC roster, but in March — with every game more intense and every moment more crucial — we need to see growth from the Trojans’ tall trees.
It would be great if Vince Iwuchukwu could step forward after a few mediocre games, but in full candor, he joined this team midway through the season and has dealt with a minutes restriction. It’s hard to expect too much of him, despite the five-star label and the immense hype which greeted his arrival. His health limitations make it hard for him to reach anywhere close to his ceiling.
If we’re being realistic, Iwuchukwu would do well to give USC 10 quality minutes in a game. The main man has to be Joshua Morgan, who has looked good after coming back from his recent injury. Morgan is fresh due to the injury layoff, and he has been strong on defense in recent weeks. He needs to call upon his experience and give the Trojans a robust low-post presence.
Kijani Wright has improved recently. He gave USC good minutes last Thursday in the win at Colorado. Getting quality big-man minutes is less about one guy for USC; it’s more a matter of getting good stints from Morgan, Wright and Iwuchukwu. None have to be spectacular; all of them have to be competent. When they’re on the floor, they need to be defensive dynamos, but none have to play extended minutes (more than 25). Against Colorado, we saw Morgan get 22 while Wright and Iwuchukwu both played nine. If USC can get something similar to that against Arizona with strong defensive play, the Trojans will have a legitimate chance to knock off the Wildcats and take a big step toward the NCAA Tournament.
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