USC men’s basketball knows the building process is just beginning

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USC men’s basketball will not make the NCAA Tournament this year. While that might be a disappointment to some, it certainly shouldn’t come as a surprise. Eric Musselman had to throw together this 2024-2025 roster entirely from the transfer portal, with the sole exception of Harrison Hornery, who has not been a core rotational player for this team. Having to build a roster completely from the portal has left this USC team with limitations which probably won’t exist in future seasons, given Musselman’s ability to recruit. That will enable him to piece together a better roster than what he has now.

USC’s limitations were laid bare last Thursday at Maryland. While most of the country was watching the USA-Canada hockey game, USC men’s basketball went on the road and suffered yet another ugly loss. The Trojans traveled across the country to take on the No. 20 Terps, who went up 11-0 to start the game and never really looked back, cruising to an 88-71 win. USC never led in the loss.

After trailing by as many as 20 points early in the second half, the Trojans did make a run, cutting the deficit to six with 9:37 left to play. However, Maryland responded with a 17-7 run of their own to get their lead to 82-66 and essentially put the game out of reach.

Wesley Yates III led the way for USC in the loss with 21 points. Saint Thomas added 10 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Kevin Patton Jr. added 11 points off the bench.

With the loss, the Trojans have now lost four of their last five games. After an upset victory over then-No. 7 Michigan State three weeks ago, it was looking like USC could be a legitimate NCAA Tournament contender. After their recent stretch, however, the Trojans’ hopes are now on extremely thin ice.

USC will continue its East Coast road trip with a trip up the highway (not the freeway, they don’t use that term in the Northeast) to play Rutgers on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Pacific time/6 p.m Eastern time.

USC basketball is building for the future….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/usc-mens-basketball-knows-building-155919675.html

Author : Trojans Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-23 15:59:00

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