Remember way back last week, when USC men’s basketball was off to its best start in 47 years?
What a distant recollection that seems now.
Since, the 19th-ranked Trojans have lost three of four, including Saturday’s 71-61 defeat to Utah, the first time USC has lost consecutive games this year, and the most inexplicable of the three losses.
Arizona, you can understand. The Wildcats are a talented team that would make the NCAA Tournament if not for a self-imposed postseason ban. Colorado on the road isn’t shocking either, given the Trojans’ history in Boulder and the mismatch the Buffs’ guards present USC.
But Utah? The team that entered the night 10th in the Pac-12?
The Trojans (19-6, 13-5 in Pac-12 play) were clinging to a two-point lead at halftime despite a shaky offensive performance, with nine turnovers to three assists. It felt like if USC could settle down, a settling win was within reach.
But the Trojans came out of the locker room seemingly unrecognizable. The Utes (10-11, 7-10) opened on an 8-0 run and made nine of 10 shots to open the half, while USC missed 13 of 14 from the floor to fall behind by 13.
“Very disappointed in our second half of basketball,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “It was our worst half probably all season. … If you look at our numbers from a shooting percentage, turnovers, it was really our worst performance probably in the entire season.”
Drew Peterson valiantly tried to get the Trojans back in it. The junior guard scored seven straight for USC, then made a three-point play to cut the Utah lead to five.
But the Utes put the Trojans away from behind the 3-point line, going 7-for-9 from distance in the second and 9-for-15 overall. After one particularly frustrating defensive breakdown that led to a corner 3, point guard Ethan Anderson turned to the bench, arms outstretched, searching for any answer.
Before long, Enfield waved the white flag and inserted true freshman Reece Waters into the game.
The Trojans’ dominating open minutes, with their first 16 points coming in the paint as USC built a 10-point lead, were quickly forgotten. Instead, there were just questions, as leading scorer Evan Mobley struggled through a 2-for-7 shooting performance, and guard Tahj Eaddy only managed four points.
Combined, USC’s starters went 12-for-39 from the floor with nine turnovers. The Trojans went 2 for 13 from 3-point range and recorded only five fastbreak points.
“If we play guys a certain amount of minutes, they have to play a lot better than they did tonight,” Enfield said. “You just have to play better. There’s no excuses. If you want to win Pac-12 games on the road, you can’t play like that.”
USC had more to play for than Utah, with the hope of winning a Pac-12 title still alive. But that goal may be out of reach now, one game behind first-place UCLA (which played Colorado later Saturday) with two games left to play.
That could be the least of USC’s concerns, though, as the Trojans try to right the ship before the Pac-12 Tournament in two weekends.
“I’ll take the blame for this; I’m the head coach,” Enfield said. “So we’ll deal with our mental state of mind this week, but at some point players have to step up and do what they’re capable of doing. And tonight we didn’t do that.”
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February 28, 2021 at 10:28AM
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USC men’s basketball falls to Utah as Trojans enter free fall - San Bernardino County Sun
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