The USC Trojans landed in the East Region at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They play Michigan State in the first round on Friday morning in Columbus, Ohio.
Is Michigan State a good opponent to face, or is this a nightmare matchup for the Trojans?
Is USC in a great position to win, or in a prime position to be knocked out and sent packing after one game?
USC landed in a bracket where Marquette is the No. 2 seed and the likely opponent for the Trojans if they can get past Michigan State.
Shaka Smart has had trouble in the NCAA Tournament ever since his 2011 run with VCU to the Final Four, so maybe that’s a great draw for USC. However, Marquette just hammered Xavier to win the Big East Tournament championship after winning the Big East regular-season title.
Good path or bad path for USC? Everyone is asking that question right now after the brackets were revealed on Selection Sunday.
The inconvenient but honest and responsible answer: It doesn’t matter.
If USC plays against Michigan State the way it played in the Pac-12 Tournament against Arizona State, the Trojans are going home.
If USC plays the way it did in the second half against UCLA, the Trojans will win and advance.
USC could play nervous basketball, as it did in the first half of last year’s NCAA Tournament game against Miami, or it could play aggressive, attacking basketball, as it did in the second half.
Which USC team shows up is the main concern. Everything else is just talk.
That’s the bottom line.
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