Drew Peterson leads USC past Alabama State, Trojans prepare for Vermont

USC was able to go deep into its bench and give a lot of players meaningful minutes. Next up is a real test: Vermont, a strong mid-major opponent.

The USC Trojans stumbled out of the gate on opening night of their new college basketball season. They were blown out by Florida Gulf Coast in a game which was a complete disaster. They had to come roaring out of the blocks in their second game of the season on Thursday night versus Alabama State.

They did.

It’s not as though we learned a whole lot about the Trojans. Alabama State is a bottom-rung team in college basketball. This was a true cupcake game meant to provide all USC players with playing time. Andy Enfield was able to go deep into his bench and widely distribute minutes.

Yet, even though this game didn’t contain a lot of value for the Trojans, it at least gave them a chance to let loose on offense and potentially gain some confidence.

A 96-58 win over the Hornets gives USC a chance to generate some rhythm and hopefully settle into the season.

Drew Peterson led the Trojans with 21 points in this game. He entered the season hoping he could elevate his game and take USC deep into March Madness.

USC next plays Vermont, one of the best mid-major teams in the country. The Florida Gulf Coast loss makes the Vermont game that much bigger for the Men of Troy. They need to be on top of their game.

[mm-video type=video id=01ghhfth2agpgjbbnn79 playlist_id=none player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01ghhfth2agpgjbbnn79/01ghhfth2agpgjbbnn79-6a1bb15d1fd89e0e384014c8754fe0f2.jpg]

[listicle id=51558]