Tag: Kobe Johnson

USC gets huge win over Auburn, first big step toward the NCAA Tournament

#USC badly needed this win to improve its NCAA Tournament resume. Now the Trojans have something to build on. Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson led the way.

The USC Trojans simply had to win this game if they wanted to have a realistic shot at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They needed to beat the Auburn Tigers on Sunday to show they could win a significant nonconference game against a high-quality opponent.

They got the job done.

Boogie Ellis threw down 28 points, Kobe Johnson collected six steals, and the Trojans forced 23 Auburn turnovers in a 74-71 win in the Galen Center on Sunday afternoon. Boogie was the leader this team needed, but the supporting-cast efforts of Kobe Johnson, Joshua Morgan, and Tre White in particular were enough to help USC beat an Auburn team which is expected to contend for the SEC championship. USC certainly hopes Auburn will thrive, because the Trojans need this win to look really good in a few months.

If it does, the value of this Auburn win will wipe away the negative value of that horrid loss to Florida Gulf Coast, the one true blemish on USC’s resume. The Trojans’ other losses, to Wisconsin and Tennessee, aren’t bad losses. They were failures to boost the resume, but they aren’t outright deficits. The Trojans didn’t have anything to recommend them for March Madness. Now they do. That’s the importance of this Auburn win.

USC was clinging to a 61-59 lead with just under four minutes left when Reese Dixon-Waters grabbed a crucial offensive rebound. Kobe Johnson hit two free throws shortly thereafter. Joshua Morgan added a dunk. USC took a four-point lead into the final 2:30. Ellis, who was 9 of 15 from the field and played brilliantly, locked down the game at the free throw line in the closing moments.

USC next faces Colorado State Wednesday night in Phoenix before moving into Pac-12 play.

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Trojans defeat Cal State Fullerton on the hardwood, move to 7-3 this season

The #USC Trojans found some help from their depth pieces in a double-digit victory over Cal State Fullerton, but their 3-point shooting remains poor.

The USC Trojans managed to win their third straight game on Wednesday night by defeating the Cal State Fullerton Titans, 64-50, at the Galen Center.

In a battle of 2022 NCAA Tournament teams, the Trojans led from start to finish despite a subpar outing from Boogie Ellis and Reese Dixon-Waters.

Nonetheless, Andy Enfield’s team got its seventh victory of the year to move to 7-3 with a massive game against Auburn looming on December 18.

Ellis scored just five points on 2-11 shooting from the field, including a disappointing 1-7 mark from downtown. Drew Peterson scored nine points on 3-8 shooting.

However, Kobe Johnson emerged again with 14 points, five boards and five assists, marking his second straight game finishing in double figures.

Even more noteworthy was a career-high 15 points from Tre White, who also chipped in six rebounds and finished as the Trojans’ leading scorer.

In the Trojans’ losses against Wisconsin and Tennessee last month, it was the lack of depth that was a major concern. However, the emergence of White and Johnson could be a step in the right direction.

Latrell Wrightsell Jr. led all scorers with 17 points, although he was the only Titan player to score in double figures.

USC finished with a 42.9-percent shooting clip from the field,  but one disappointing stat was a 4-20 (20%) mark from the 3-point line.

The Trojans have the weekend off before facing Long Beach State on Wednesday in their final tune-up before the Auburn game.

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