USC men’s basketball at pivotal point before postseason
USC men’s basketball is the midst of its worst stretch of the season.
Granted, the 19th-ranked Trojans have set the bar high with a 19-5 record and 13-4 mark in the Pac-12. But Thursday’s 18-point loss to Colorado marked the first time all season USC has lost two of three games.
This is not to say it’s time to panic about USC; that would be an overreaction, especially given the most recent defeats came at the hands of two of the Pac-12’s best teams. But the Trojans have reached a crossroads at the end of the 2020-21 season.
With three games left in the regular season, starting Saturday at Utah (9-11, 6-10), now is the time when teams want to be building momentum ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Much postseason success relies on how a team is playing and feeling about itself entering March, and sometimes that momentum can be developed in the conference tournament. Think of the 2011 UConn team that lost four of five to end the regular season, then swept through the Big East tourney ahead of a national title run.
But that’s a rare case, and USC would rather regain the momentum it had prior to this three-game struggle – when the Trojans won 13 of 14 – before heading to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament.
There’s too much at stake between now and then, namely, a regular-season conference crown that has eluded USC for more than three decades.
USC fell a half-game behind UCLA in that race Thursday, but the remaining schedule presents a good opportunity for the Trojans to still achieve the goal. The remaining opponents are all teams USC has beaten, including a rematch with the Bruins in the finale with the conference title potentially on the line.
Utah is the perfect team to play to snap out of the funk, given the Utes have lost four in a row. The Trojans beat Utah by 18 in early January despite leading scorer Evan Mobley not attempting a shot.
Mobley wasn’t exactly that quiet in the loss to Colorado on Thursday, but he wasn’t his typical self. The 7-footer scored 13 points on 13 attempts and shot only two free throws, down from his 5.8-per-game average. And he committed four first-half turnovers and finished with no assists.
USC head coach Andy Enfield felt Mobley was making the right decisions against the Buffs, regardless of the results.
“He has confidence in his teammates and they have confidence in him, so we need to make the right basketball play when we can,” Enfield said.
USC (19-5, 13-4) at Utah (9-11, 6-10)
When: 5 p.m. PT Saturday
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
TV/Radio: ESPN2/AM 790