Tag: USC basketball

Kobe Johnson returns to USC campus for first basketball game since transfer

Kobe Johnson faces USC for the first time since he transferred to UCLA. Buckle up!

It should be quite a scene inside USC’s Galen Center on Monday night. Kobe Johnson, who helped USC make the NCAA Tournament and was a very productive player for the Trojans, transferred to UCLA basketball when Andy Enfield left for SMU. The fact that he transferred out of the USC program when a coaching change occurred does not upset Trojan fans at all.

Transferring to UCLA, however? That hits differently, as Trojans Wire’s Adam Bradford explained:

In the transfer portal era, fans are generally understanding when players decide to look elsewhere. Had Johnson transferred to just about any other school in the country, USC fans would have thanked him for his time in Cardinal and Gold and wished him the best of luck.

But even in today’s new age, rivalries remain the heartbeat of college sports. While transferring to a different school is widely viewed as normal and acceptable, switching sides in a rivalry is where most fans draw the line.

It will be interesting to see how the Galen Center crowd receives Kobe Johnson. It will be important to see how much Kobe Johnson does to help UCLA defeat the Trojans.

USC faces a challenge against improving UCLA Bruins

Aday Mara is the UCLA player who has really improved in recent weeks, making the Bruins better. USC has to have an answer for him in the paint.

If the USC basketball team wants to make a genuine push for the NCAA Tournament, this has to be the week in which the Trojans make their case. They can’t delay or wait for better opportunities. The Trojans have to win these next two games at home versus UCLA and Michigan State. Part one is against Mick Cronin’s Bruins on Monday night. If USC is going to win, it will need to deal with an improving UCLA team which has rebounded from a four-game losing streak. Aday Mara is the player who has stood at the center of the Bruins’ resurgence, as this UCLA Wire story helps explain in greater detail:

Those who follow UCLA basketball closely have said for weeks that Mara offers disruptive defensive size and length and could address some of the defensive weaknesses this team has shown. That disruptive defense was on display against Wisconsin. Mara blocked two shots and deterred others. Yet, the big revelation and surprise was Mara scoring 22 points and going 7 of 7 from the field. This is a player who averages 5.3 points and 10 minutes per game. Against Wisconsin, Mara’s 22 points came in 21 minutes.

Aday Mara followed that Wisconsin game with another very good performance on Friday versus Washington. Mara posted 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots in a well-rounded effort. This is clearly the adjustment from Mick Cronin which has made UCLA better.

If USC wants to go through UCLA on Monday, having an answer for Aday Mara has to be at or near the top of Eric Musselman’s checklist.

USC, like UCLA, has endured bad patches and gotten better

USC and UCLA have both shown resilience this season, adding to the intrigue of Monday night’s battle for Los Angeles.

UCLA basketball has gone through some very difficult times this season. The Bruins got clobbered by New Mexico in November. They blew a huge lead to North Carolina in December. They lost four straight Big Ten games. The Bruins have faced adversity but have managed to persevere, winning three straight games. The team UCLA faces on Monday in Los Angeles can relate to what the Bruins have endured. USC basketball has a similar resilience. The Trojans and Eric Musselman have shaped a trajectory marked by struggle followed by improvement.

USC looked awful in November, getting shredded by Saint Mary’s and New Mexico. The Trojans lost at home to Cal. They were a bad basketball team midway through their nonconference season. They started 1-3 in the Big Ten and appeared to be going nowhere. However, Eric Musselman has turned the Trojans around. They won at Illinois earlier in January and are now coming off a road win at Nebraska. They are 4-4 in the Big Ten and — in late January — have something to play for as they host UCLA on Monday night at 7 p.m. Pacific time on Fox Sports 1.

Mick Cronin and Eric Musselman both saw their teams lack toughness midway through their respective seasons. Both UCLA and USC have responded to the challenge. Now the two teams measure themselves against each other. It’s a mirror-image basketball game, as the Battle for Los Angeles hits the hardwood.

Big Ten women’s basketball championship race takes another turn

The Big Ten women’s basketball title race is now a three-way scramble involving USC, UCLA, and Ohio State.

The Big Ten women’s basketball championship is up for grabs, with USC at the head of the pack. Two teams chasing the Trojans, Maryland and Ohio State, faced each other on Thursday in Columbus. Ohio State’s win redraws the Big Ten basketball standings.

USC is 8-0 in Big Ten play. UCLA is 7-0. Ohio State — with its win on Thursday night — moves to 7-1 in the conference. Maryland slides down to 6-2, leaving USC, UCLA, and OSU as the only three teams in the conference with fewer than two losses.

On Sunday, Maryland must host UCLA. The Terrapins will lose a third Big Ten game if they can’t give UCLA its first loss of the season. Assuming Maryland does lose, the Terps would not have head-to-head tiebreakers against any of the top teams in the Big Ten: USC, UCLA, and Ohio State. The Terrapins would essentially — though not technically — be eliminated from contention.

Let’s see what happens for the Women of Troy and their foremost competitors in the battle for the Big Ten women’s basketball championship.

USC bench should be hungry and ready to excel versus Purdue

The USC bench didn’t do much against Indiana. It’s important to step up against Purdue on Wednesday night.

The USC women’s basketball team fought hard for a really good road win at Indiana on Sunday. The Trojans were pushed for 40 minutes by the Hoosiers. They were playing a morning game according to the Pacific time zone. They were rusty after a week off. Indiana was mad after losing to Illinois a few days earlier. The Indiana crowd was raucous and spirited. A lot of dynamics were working against the Trojans, so even though IU was not ranked in the top 25, that’s a quality win. It’s a win which is magnified by Ohio State not passing a similar road test at Penn State. The Buckeyes fell behind USC in the Big Ten standings. The Trojans now turn their attention to Purdue, and one key seems paramount in this upcoming contest on Wednesday.

USC women’s basketball needs a good, productive game from its bench.

Lindsay Gottlieb rode her starting five hard against Indiana. There are 200 minutes in a regulation-length game. USC’s starting five played 173 minutes, the bench just 27. Only one bench player, Kayleigh Heckel, played more than seven minutes (14). None of USC’s bench players scored a point or made a big imprint on the game. Against Purdue, a team which is much weaker than Indiana, USC should not only be able to get a lot of minutes for its bench, but also get significant production.

Keep in mind that USC has another full-week layoff after the Purdue game. The January 22 contest versus the Boilermakers is followed by a Jan. 30 game versus Minnesota, with nothing in between. If the starters played a ton of minutes against Indiana, the bench needs to really pick up the slack against Purdue and get some good work in, heading into the Minnesota game.

USC-Purdue sets up as a high-volume bench game for the Trojans. Let’s see what happens.

USC win over Indiana came in spite of one shocking flaw

USC’s bench didn’t score a point at Indiana. The Trojans still won on the road. That’s how tough this team is.

USC women’s basketball had to work really hard for a difficult 73-66 win over Indiana on Sunday. This was a road game, played at a bad body clock time (9 a.m. Pacific), in front of a roaring crowd, after a full-week layoff which did contribute to some USC rust. Indiana was also coming off a tough loss to Illinois, after which IU coach Teri Moren challenged her players to be better. This game figured to be a dogfight, and it was. Indiana led by four points early in the fourth quarter before USC responded down the stretch to remain unbeaten in Big Ten Conference play.

If you watched the game or if you merely checked a box score, you noticed something specific which rarely happens: USC’s bench got shut out. That’s right. USC’s bench did not score a point in this game. This bench has been instrumental in winning Big Ten basketball games. The bench was essential and central to the road win at Maryland a week and a half ago. It was therefore shocking to see USC’s bench get bageled against Indiana. Being able to overcome that is an encouraging sign for the Trojans, provided the bench gets back on the beam and performs well on Wednesday at Purdue, which it should.

It will be interesting to see how the USC women’s basketball bench and lineup rotations are changed, if at all, in the next few weeks.

USC defense made sure Indiana didn’t get to the rim in 73-66 victory

Indiana was turned into a jump-shooting team by USC in the fourth quarter. The Trojans dared IU to make 3-pointers. The Hoosiers didn’t make enough.

USC women’s basketball is a tough team. Mostly, that toughness is mental. The Trojans didn’t buckle when Indiana hit them with multiple big runs on Sunday in Bloomington. Indiana led by 11. USC responded. Indiana led in the fourth quarter. USC responded. One key to the Trojans’ ability to withstand runs is that they never let the Hoosiers consistently get the ball to the basket. USC’s toughness manifested itself not just mentally, but physically. The Trojans had the size and length to deter IU within 10 feet of the basket, forcing the Hoosiers to beat them by taking a lot of 3-point shots.

Indiana did not make enough of them.

Indiana’s shot selection became a defining feature of USC’s 73-66 win. The Hoosiers shot almost 50 percent on 2-pointers, at 13 of 27. However, they were just 8 of 29, under 28 percent, on 3-pointers. The eight makes weren’t enough to offset the 21 misses. All those empty possessions added up for Indiana in a close loss. USC took 11 fewer 3-pointers and shot a slightly better percentage (6 of 18, 33.3 percent) than Indiana. In a seven-point game, that mattered.

Indiana coach Teri Moren discussed the loss to USC:

“When I look back at UCLA, I look back at today, we’ve just got to hit shots. It’s that easy. If that’s the lesson we’ve got to learn – I think we got some really good ones, we just didn’t hit them. Syd Parrish got some really good looks. Yarden got some really good looks. Same with UCLA. We look back and we’re like, ‘We hit a couple more shots and we win this game.’ ”

Indiana’s reliance on jump shooting meant no easy baskets for the Hoosiers down the stretch. IU didn’t hit a field goal in a span of over six minutes in the fourth quarter (8:13 to 1:56), which proved decisive for USC. The Trojans didn’t let Indiana get anything free or cheap when it really mattered. That’s an indication of the toughness these Women of Troy regularly bring to the table.

USC women’s basketball holds off Indiana with 5 starters contributing

USC, after a week off, was not at its very best, but the Trojans regrouped in the fourth quarter to fend off Indiana and stay unbeaten in the Big Ten.

It wasn’t easy. Playing on the road at Indiana on Sunday, USC women’s basketball found a way to survive.

In a nationally televised that game that tipped off just after 9 a.m. Pacific time, the Women of Troy found themselves in a dogfight with the Hoosiers, trailing 50-48 late in the third quarter. However, a clutch performance by Juju Watkins down the stretch was enough to propel USC. The Trojans avoided the upset and escaped Bloomington with a 73-66 victory.

Watkins finished with a game-high 22 points. She was one of five Trojans in double figures. Kiki Iriafen and Kennedy Smith each had 14, Rayah Marshall had 13, and Talia von Oelhoffen added 10. Marshall also had 10 rebounds, as she recorded her third double double of the season.

It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Women of Troy. USC is now 17-1 overall on the season and 7-0 in Big Ten play. Crosstown rival UCLA is the only other Big Ten team which has yet to lose a conference game.

The Trojans will wrap up their two-game trip to the Midwest when they visit Purdue on Wednesday evening.

Wisconsin guard John Blackwell continues stellar sophomore season in win over USC

Wisconsin guard John Blackwell continues stellar sophomore season in win over USC

Wisconsin basketball star guard John Blackwell dropped 28 points in the Badgers’ 84-69 win over USC on Friday.

After mustering 15 points in Wisconsin’s Jan. 14 victory over Ohio State, Blackwell dropped 16 first-half tallies to set the tone against the Trojans.

Blackwell notched three more points than USC’s entire starting platoon in fewer than seven minutes to start the game. The Michigan native exploded for two three-point field goals, a pair of layups and a made free throw to outscore the Trojans 11-8 at the 14:05-minute mark of the first half.

The sophomore then went quiet for the ensuing 11 minutes of play before adding five more points before the break. Wisconsin led 42-27 at that stage, in firm control of the contest.

Senior Max Klesmit stole the show in the second half as the Badgers faced a lengthy USC scoring run. Blackwell played a big role in that stretch as well, scoring several critical baskets in the interior.

After the game was in-hand, the sophomore closed the contest with UW’s final four points. His final bucket, a one-handed dunk in transition, punctuated his 28-point masterpiece and Wisconsin’s 15th win of the 2024-25 season.

Blackwell is scoring 23.2 points per appearance in the Badgers’ five straight Big Ten wins to start the calendar year. In that stretch, he’s dropped at least 21 points three times. His emergence is all the more notable considering Wisconsin’s remaining opponents — all Big Ten foes. The sophomore standout continues to play his best basketball as the competition increases in difficulty.

His showing against the Trojans has his season averages up to 16 points and nearly five rebounds, second on the team behind wing John Tonje (18 points, five rebounds).

Five stats that defined Wisconsin basketball’s 15-point win over USC

Five stats that defined Wisconsin basketball’s 15-point win over USC

Wisconsin basketball captured a convincing 84-69 win over the USC Trojans on Saturday.

Star sophomore John Blackwell commanded Wisconsin’s offense from start to finish, as he has on several occasions throughout the season. The Michigan native dropped a game-leading 28 points on an impressive 10-of-16 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

The Badgers set the tone early with 42 first-half points on 58.3% from the floor and a sweltering 46.7% from distance. The Trojans struggled to remain in the contest during the first 20 minutes. Eric Musselman’s crew fought back with a well-rounded second half, however, led by a surge on the offensive end.

Blackwell and veteran Max Klesmit denied USC from completing an improbable comeback with 25 combined second-half tallies, led by aggressive play inside the three-point line. When the dust settled, Wisconsin pocketed a 15-point victory to improve to 15-3 on the season.

With the win, UW also extended its win streak to seven games dating back to Dec. 14. Here are five stats that defined UW’s impressive win over the Trojans on Saturday.

1. 86.7% from the charity stripe

Wisconsin continued its improbable efficiency from the free-throw line against USC. While the number of makes on Saturday did not come close to what the Badgers pulled off against Ohio State on Jan. 14 (25-of-28), it was still a big part of the win.

The team’s consistency from the charity stripe is arguably its most lethal offensive weapon. The Badgers led the nation entering Saturday with an 85.41% clip from the free throw line. If Greg Gard’s group can maintain this type of efficiency for the remainder of the season, UW will set the all-time NCAA Division I record for free throw percentage in a single season.

2. 13 second-half points from Max Klesmit

The 2024-25 season has not been kind to Max Klesmit. The senior guard is accountable for 10.1 points per game this season, but he’s shot just 32.6% from the field and 29% from distance through 16 games. A recent ankle injury and subsequent struggles against Rutgers and Ohio State have sent him down Wisconsin’s list of offensive options.

Klesmit rebounded in a big way on Saturday. He scored 13 crucial points in the second half to help UW pull away from USC. While his ceiling isn’t as high as Blackwell’s or John Tonje’s, these spurts will prove valuable down the line.

3. Zero points from John Tonje

While disappointing, John Tonje’s no-show actually makes Wisconsin’s win more impressive. UW’s leading scorer took just three shots on Saturday after posting 17 points on Jan. 14 vs. Ohio State and 16 on Jan. 10 vs. Minnesota.

The Badgers ultimately didn’t require any production from Tonje. Blackwell dropped 28, Klesmit scored 18, Winter chalked up 13 and Kamari McGee finished with 10 points. This is an aberration, and it shouldn’t concern fans going forward.

4. 17 assists

Throughout virtually the entire first half, Big Ten commentators Guy Haberman and Don MacLean harped on Wisconsin’s offensive evolution this season. UW is operating as its fastest pace in nearly 30 years, and the team is passing as well as it ever has under Gard. The Badgers scored 31 field goals on 17 assists on Saturday as four players notched at least three assists.

5. 28 points from John Blackwell

John Tonje stole the show to begin the season. Since Jan. 3, John Blackwell has morphed into one of the more lethal wing players on one of college basketball’s top-ranked offensive units.

Saturday marked the fourth time Blackwell scored at least 20 points this season. He’s done so efficiently — the sophomore is shooting nearly 50% from the field and over 82% from the free throw line in 18 starts. His emergent season now boasts averages of 16.1 points and nearly five rebounds per game.

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