The USC Trojans are preparing for their latest trip to the NCAA Tournament. They reached the Big Dance in 2020 but never got to play in it because the pandemic canceled the event. They went in 2021 and reached the Elite Eight. They went in 2022 and lost a heartbreaker to Miami in the first round. What awaits the Men of Troy this Friday in Columbus, Ohio, when they face Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans?
There are some X-and-O items to discuss here, chiefly how well USC can rebound the ball after failing to protect the defensive glass in the Pac-12 Tournament loss to Arizona State. The uncertain playing status and overall health of backup big man Vince Iwuchukwu is an obvious concern. It would be great if Andy Enfield can merely get 12 high-energy minutes from his five-star recruit, who has been saddled with continuous health problems in his freshman season.
Yet, as much as rebounding and specific components of play — such as 3-point shooting — will naturally play a central role in shaping the outcome, a lot of this game comes down to something other than the tactics. Find out what that is in our latest episode. We also talk about the NCAA Tournament bracket in general.
Ian Hest produced the show:
[mm-video type=video id=01gvh68pd1h48vjftzt6 playlist_id=none player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gvh68pd1h48vjftzt6/01gvh68pd1h48vjftzt6-7742431b8a5da1865db4d915f6750c2b.jpg]
[lawrence-auto-related count=1 tag=696091895]