Tag: USC basketball

USC men’s basketball wins by 26 points, shows signs of figuring things out

USC men’s basketball drilled Montana State by 26 points. USC has looked a lot better the past two weeks. This team could be rounding into form.

USC men’s basketball had a very rough ride in the month of November. This was to be expected with a roster almost entirely comprised of transfers. Only one player, Harrison Hornery, came back from last season. Coach Eric Musselman was bound to have some problems piecing together lineup combinations and styles of play which fit his assorted puzzle parts. We saw how difficult this process was when USC took its lumps in late November and got run off the floor by multiple opponents.

Now in mid-December, it seems this USC coaching staff and roster are learning how to create a polished product.

USC played Oregon tough, but lost. Then it blasted Washington on the road in an eye-opening display. Sunday night, USC hammered Montana State in a game which was never close. USC jumped to a quick 27-5 lead, then led by 26 at halftime and finished with a 26-point win, 89-63.

USC’s defense, consistency, effort level, and connectedness are miles better than what they were three weeks ago. The in-game lulls, droughts, and periods marked by a lack of focus are being weeded out of this team’s DNA.

It’s not as though Musselman was a bad coach three weeks ago; he simply ran into the limitations of an all-transfer roster he hastily put together after Andy Enfield and a bunch of 2024 players left the program. Given some time, Musselman has been able to drill deeper and improve player habits across the board. The identity of this team is not only better, but more defined. One can see that in these recent December performances. Hopefully USC can carry all of this into the teeth of the Big Ten season in January.

USC women’s basketball scores 58-point win, prepares for UConn next Saturday

USC won its final tune-up game before the huge showdown against No. 2 UConn this coming Saturday, Dec. 21.

The USC women’s basketball team beat Oregon earlier this month in Big Ten play but then played a few tune-up games to work on overall cohesion and figure out lineup combinations. The Trojans know that they need to be on the same page and very well connected when they face the UConn Huskies this coming Saturday in one of the biggest college basketball games of the regular season.

Sunday’s game against Elon in the Galen Center was not going to answer every question or prove every point. What it did reinforce: USC plays superb defense every week.

The Trojans scored 88 points against Elon, but the eye-opening number was the 30 points USC allowed. USC’s defense is there in every game. The Trojans have not had a bad defensive game yet this season. If they are going to beat UConn, that defense will need to show up.

USC is without Kennedy Smith, a starter at the beginning of the season who is out for an extended period of time with an injury. USC’s offense, minus Smith, got shredded by Notre Dame’s defense on Nov. 23. The subsequent weeks have needed to give USC more cohesion and continuity on offense. One can only hope this game against Elon gave the Trojans more of an understanding of how to play together on offense. USC’s offense will need to be reasonably good against an elite opponent.

UConn awaits. We will find out on Saturday how much this team has evolved.

USC women’s basketball blasts Fresno State after slow start

USC trailed Fresno State by four points midway through the first quarter. It led by 44 after three quarters. Yes, the Trojans turned on the jets.

The USC women’s basketball team hosted Fresno State at the Galen Center on Tuesday. This was not a normal start time of 7 or 7:30 p.m. The game was an early-evening tip at 6 p.m. in Los Angeles. USC played as though the game started at 6:30. The Trojans stumbled through the first few minutes. Midway through the first quarter, they trailed 10-6. Was this game going to be close? The first five minutes offered at least some intrigue in that regard.

Then the Trojans stopped playing with their food.

USC outscored Fresno State 16-2 over the remainder of the first quarter to take a 22-12 lead. In the second quarter, the Women of Troy outscored FSU 24-8. In the third quarter: 24-6. By the end of three quarters, USC led 70-26. USC outscored FSU 64-16 over two and a half quarters. The final was 89-40.

Notable is that UCLA beat Fresno State by 56 points earlier this season. USC won by 49. Also notable is that Kiki Iriafen and JuJu Watkins combined for 45 points and 19 rebounds. They both looked very comfortable on the court. When they do, USC rolls.

One other note: Lindsay Gottlieb was able to give 70 bench minutes to her reserves. USC is trying to get a look at different lineup combinations with Kennedy Smith out for an extended period of time with an injury. Finding combinations with JuJu and Kiki is part of this team’s learning process and evolutionary arc. These different lineup combinations uniting the stars and the bench are meant to give Gottlieb more tools and resources in February and March, when she might need to make certain moves to unlock this team’s potential and counter any chess moves opponents might make.

USC is No. 5 in USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll

USC trails only four teams in the new USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll

The USC women’s basketball team is ranked No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll. The Trojans have only one loss this season, their Nov. 23 setback against Notre Dame. They just hammered Oregon on the road this past Saturday in their Big Ten Conference opener.

The four teams ahead of USC in the new poll are No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 South Carolina, and No. 4 LSU. UCLA defeated South Carolina earlier this season, which is why the Bruins are No. 1 and ahead of UConn. South Carolina has responded well to the UCLA loss, blasting Iowa State, Duke, and most recently TCU on Sunday. TCU was ranked in the top 10 going into that game. South Carolina handled the Horned Frogs comfortably.

USC faces UConn on Dec. 21 on a huge sports Saturday. That game will be nationally televised on Fox Sports and will compete against College Football Playoff first-round games.

USC women’s basketball smothers Oregon with elite defense

USC women’s basketball has an elite defense. That defense showed up against Oregon, holding UO to 3-of-20 shooting from 3-point range.

The USC women’s basketball team played a Big Ten game in a longtime Pac-12 location. USC-Oregon should be a Pac-12 game, but this is the new world we live in. The Trojans felt very much at home in Eugene on Saturday afternoon. So did the players who transferred to USC in the offseason and were familiar with the Ducks.

Kiki Iriafen, the transfer from Stanford, scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Talia von Oelhoffen, the transfer from Oregon State, scored 11 points and hit three 3-pointers to help JuJu Watkins, who led the Trojans with 21 points. All three players — and the rest of the Trojans — made their biggest contributions at the defensive end of the floor. USC held Oregon to just six points in the second quarter, outscoring the Ducks 28-6 in that 10-minute stretch to blow the game open before halftime. USC held Oregon to 13 or fewer points in three of the game’s four quarters and cruised to a 66-53 win on the road.

USC reaffirmed the best part of its identity: Its defense is always good. It was good in the narrow win over Ole Miss in France. It was good against Notre Dame. As long as USC’s offense doesn’t collapse, the Trojans will be tough to beat in any game they play.

Oregon finished 3 of 20 on 3-point shots. The Ducks committed 16 turnovers and earned only eight free throw attempts. Oregon finished just under 36 percent shooting from the field for the game. This was a complete defensive showing by USC, which took an important step forward this season.

USC men’s basketball runs into harsh reality in the California desert

Eric Musselman and USC know that this roster is a long-term project and not a quick fix. That was made clear by two losses in Palm Desert, California.

The reality surrounding USC men’s basketball is not a pleasant one, but it’s also not something to panic about in a long-term context. Eric Musselman is going through his own growing pains at USC, but what is happening this year might have little bearing on what happens in future seasons in Los Angeles. For the moment, though, life isn’t fun for the Men of Troy. They lost a second game in Palm Desert, California, falling 83-73 to New Mexico on Friday night.

The Trojans could not score on Thursday in their loss to Saint Mary’s, posting just 36 points. Friday, they couldn’t defend, allowing 83 to New Mexico. It’s always something, and it’s not just one thing, for the Trojans. That is the biggest concern. If the team had one flaw, Musselman could address it and the collective would have a chance to be really good. However, this team doesn’t have one flaw. It has many. Opponents are able to expose them, and the fact of the matter is that USC is just not ready to win big right now. The NCAA Tournament is an unrealistic goal at this point. USC has to simply improve before it can entertain bigger goals.

New Mexico unleashed a 14-0 run to break this game open in the second half after USC — down 13 — had cut UNM’s lead to just four, at 47-43. USC goes through scoring droughts, and it also goes through five-minute segments in which other teams pile up the points. At both ends of the floor, USC doesn’t have the physical heft to overpower comparably skilled opponents. Even against smaller teams — as we saw the past few weeks against Idaho State, UT Arlington, and Grambling — the Trojans couldn’t really separate from the opposition. A roster comprised of transfers was always going to need a developmental process, but the bigger point is that the transfers haven’t fit very well together.

Eric Musselman should recruit well. He will need to. In Year 1, however, he had to piece together a roster on the fly. This season will not look like future seasons. Right now, however, USC is taking its lumps, and there will probably be more lumps in the coming weeks.

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USC men’s basketball endures brutal defeat against Saint Mary’s in Palm Desert

USC men’s basketball has a roster which will simply need time to develop. That might not be satisfying to anyone, but it’s the truth, and people need to know it.

Eric Musselman came to USC basketball and did not inherit a roster. He inherited a situation in which Andy Enfield recruits decommitted from the Trojans and Isaiah Collier left for the NBA. Musselman would have wanted some of Enfield’s recruits and prime players to stay, but that didn’t happen, and there’s no way to hold Muss responsible for any of that. No incoming coach can be held responsible for that kind of situation. Musselman had to throw together his roster from the transfer portal. Saint Mary’s is one of the worst opponents for a transfer-filled team to face in the early weeks of a college basketball season.

That was made apparent on Thanksgiving Night in Palm Desert, Calif.

Do we need to bother to give you any analysis in a game which ends 71-36? Do we need to explain anything about a game in which USC went 0 for 12 on 3-point shots and scored only 15 points in the second half? Do we need to offer a research paper or dissertation on the state of USC basketball when the Trojans scored six points in a span of 11 minutes connecting the last 7:30 of the first half and the first 3:30 of the second half?

We’re done here. This team is a work in progress. Quick fixes won’t happen. This season has become a process of molding a team and learning what works. The idea that USC was an NCAA Tournament-ready team in the first weeks of the season has been blown out of the water.

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Why JuJu Watkins’ mom still makes her signature bun for every game

Juju Watkins’ mom needs to drop the secret. The bun is always IMMACULATE.

Anytime USC sophomore sensation JuJu Watkins takes the floor, it’s hard to miss her signature high ponytail shaped into a bun. You might wonder how it ALWAYS looks so crisp without a hair out of place.

Here’s the answer: Her mom still does it for her every game.

This is what JuJu recently said when asked why her mom does her hair:

“The fact that everybody’s gonna know my mom does my hair after this…like, I’m getting so much backlash. Listen, this is all I’m gonna say: I’m working on it. I’m trying to get it like that. This woman has 18 years of experience. So, please. Relax. Chill on me for a second.”

It’s hard to replicate something that has CLEARLY been perfected with an ironclad process. So, her (not so) secret is safe with us. But we can’t wait for JuJu to try it on her own. We know the results would be tremendous.

@uninterrupted

JuJu Watkins shares her pregame routine with her mom ❤️ #StateFarmPartner #JuJuWatkins #basketball #USC #SierraCanyon

♬ original sound – uninterrupted

https://www.instagram.com/p/DC2G–hxqb8/?igsh=MTc4OTh5Z2Y5Zjk4cA==

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USC No. 3, Notre Dame No. 5 in USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll

No. 3 versus No. 5. USC against Notre Dame in women’s basketball this Saturday in the Galen Center is a top-five showdown. It’s must-see TV on NBC.

The main event this weekend for USC sports fans is actually not one event. It’s two. USC football versus UCLA is always a big deal, regardless of the records of the two teams. However, this Saturday, another massive showdown involving USC will take place. The Trojans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will meet in women’s basketball. Both teams are in the top five of the latest USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

USC fans will be able to attend both games on Saturday. USC-Notre Dame is at the Galen Center and will start just after 1 p.m. local time in Los Angeles. The USC-UCLA football game will start just after 7:30 p.m. local time in Pasadena. That offers Angelenos more than enough time to leave Galen and get to the Rose Bowl Stadium in time for kickoff, even with LA’s infamously nasty traffic.

The USC-Notre Dame game is part of a television tripleheader on NBC. The network has both USC games — women’s hoops and football — with the big Notre Dame-Army football game sandwiched in between at 4 p.m. Pacific time. USC-Notre Dame women’s basketball, though, gets the party started at 1.

USC and Notre Dame share spots in the top five of the USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll with No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 UConn, and No. 4 Texas.

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Eric Musselman loses first game as USC basketball coach

USC shot over 55 percent in the first half and under 34 percent in the second half. USC was inconsistent at both ends of the floor and paid the price.

The USC men’s basketball season finally encountered a moment of real adversity on Sunday night in the Galen Center. Eric Musselman lost his first game as the Trojans’ bench boss. USC fell 71-66 to California in a weird game which took a drastic turn in the last six and a half minutes.

The score of the Cal game was 43-42 USC at halftime. The Trojans played a racehorse game against UT Arlington last week in which defense was optional. USC led 51-42 at halftime of that game and then continued to play ineffective defense in the second half. USC’s offense was able to overcome its lack of defense in a 98-95 win. The Cal game looked like another shootout after one half, and USC’s defense was plainly ineffective for most of the night. USC’s guards were beaten on the dribble. They couldn’t keep Cal’s guards out of the paint, which created all sorts of opportunities for the Golden Bears.

However, midway through the second half, the game began to take on different dimensions. USC began to dig in on defense. The faucet of points for Cal got shut off. USC gained a 64-63 lead with just under seven minutes left in regulation and was showing signs of steering this game in a different direction.

If you were watching the game, you would have assumed that if USC could get stops and hold Cal to a modest point total in the second half, the Trojans would have won. After all, they shot over 55 percent from the field in the first half. They were on pace to score 86 points at halftime. If USC held Cal to 29 second-half points, 71 for the full game, that pointed to a USC win.

Except it didn’t.

The Trojans’ offense, which flowed so well in the first 30 minutes, came to a grinding halt in the last 6:30. USC scored exactly two points in that span of time. Leading scorer Desmond Claude missed two huge free throws with a little over two minutes left. Terrance Williams had a wide-open 3-pointer in the last minute to give USC the lead, but it wasn’t even close. The Trojans went stone cold, dying at the 3-point line and not getting enough free throw opportunities to collect cheap points. A night which started with bad defense ended with bad offense, and USC fell short against its former Pac-12 neighbor.

Eric Musselman didn’t have time to recruit his first USC roster. Remember, this roster was almost completely created from the transfer portal. We are seeing the limitations of that roster. Musselman has to find a way to get everyone to contribute more at both ends of the floor.

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