This time, there could be no escape.
Because the crosstown rivals met for his or her rubber match, the chilly realities of March provided a stern reminder to USC. Slip up as soon as, and your record-breaking season quickly may very well be over.
UCLA obtained the higher of USC of their third assembly Friday, and as each enter March Insanity with their eyes on one other deep run, it’s the Trojans who've probably the most questions hanging over them.
Right here’s what we discovered after USC’s 69-59 loss to UCLA:
USC has no worries on Choice Sunday. However after that …
The Trojans is perhaps comfortably within the discipline, however nothing concerning the final two weeks ought to go away them feeling snug heading into the NCAA event.
The Trojans is perhaps comfortably within the discipline, however nothing concerning the final two weeks ought to go away them feeling snug heading into the NCAA event.
The offense has been stagnant. USC’s prime scorers have been inconsistent. And the protection hasn’t been sufficient to beat both drawback. Even when the Trojans have received over the past month, they’ve finished so by the pores and skin of their tooth, escaping within the last minutes.
That technique isn’t often a profitable one this time of 12 months. All it takes is one slip-up for USC to be despatched packing, and the Trojans have been significantly liable to these kinds of issues currently.
Happily for USC, its invite isn’t incumbent on its efficiency the final two weeks. The Trojans nonetheless received 25 video games within the common season, a college file. That counts for one thing.
Most bracket projections have USC within the vary of a six or a seven seed. UCLA coach Mick Cronin referred to as that probably seeding “ridiculously low” and attributed it to “West Coast bias.” However the reality is USC is nowhere close to peaking at a very powerful level of its season. Until it may well flip issues round, it may very well be headed for an early exit.
UCLA had higher protection, rattling USC inside
All season, USC has hung its hat on protection. Its inside work was particularly sturdy given its extraordinary measurement and size. Contained in the arc, few defenses in faculty basketball have been higher this season.
However Friday night time, it was UCLA that made its presence identified across the paint. Bruins huge man Myles Johnson helped shut down USC on the inside, leaving Isaiah Mobley unable to make a lot of an impression across the basket. Mobley completed with simply 9 factors, whereas fellow ahead Chevez Goodwin was even much less of an element, ending with 5 on two-for-seven taking pictures.
USC made simply 4 of 17 photographs contained in the arc throughout the first half on its method to 28 factors. With out a constant presence inside, the Trojans had been left scrambling, settling for perimeter photographs as their offense struggled to settle right into a rhythm.
Coach Andy Enfield noticed no cause for concern.
“We simply have to complete a few of these,” he mentioned. “It’s nothing they did.”
However what was as soon as a transparent benefit for USC actually now not appears that means.
USC restricted its turnovers however offense nonetheless struggled
Certain, it’s not exhausting to enhance on 23 turnovers. However USC’s 9 giveaways Friday night time really ranked amongst its lowest totals of the season.
That was the excellent news. The issue is it didn’t matter a lot. USC nonetheless struggled to maneuver the ball and sometimes discovered itself counting on Boogie Ellis to make performs in isolation. The artful ball motion that USC has flashed at its finest was nowhere to be discovered. The Trojans completed with a meager six assists, their fewest of the season.
“We'd like a better help whole for us to achieve our potential offensively,” Enfield mentioned. “We simply should be extra environment friendly.”
The place that effectivity would possibly come from is a respectable query. Ellis isn’t precisely a ground common, and neither Drew Peterson nor Mobley has confirmed himself as a wholly succesful catalyst. USC might should determine it out on the fly because it continues to query who ought to provoke the offense.
Ellis saved USC alive once more. He’s going to want assist
By the top of Friday’s loss, after he’d poured in a career-high 27 factors, Ellis was fully out of breath. As he leaned again right into a defensive stance, USC’s level guard was completely exhausted.
It wasn’t exhausting to see why. Ellis performed his coronary heart out because the Trojans’ solely constant offensive risk, scoring 16 factors greater than every other participant in USC’s rotation.
His current surge is an effective signal for USC because it seeks to search out somebody able to scoring on a constant foundation. Ellis had 44 factors over two video games within the Pac-12 event, placing the offense fully on his again.
But when Ellis is USC’s solely constant scorer, then the Trojans are in hassle. USC isn’t constructed for that. It wants a number of choices to have the ability to sustain with extra prolific offenses. Towards UCLA, although, there was nobody else.
Peterson scored the second-most with 11 factors. Each he and Mobley will should be extra of an element this week if USC has any probability of advancing.
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