NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
It’s not very fun in Trojan basketball land right now. USC women’s and men’s basketball have each lost two games in a row. Women’s basketball was blown out by UCLA then blew a 17-point lead to Oregon. Men’s basketball was blown out by 30 points by Michigan and 29 points by Michigan State.
Both ranked teams with aspirations of deep March Madness runs are stumbling early in conference play, and it’s hurting morale. Trojan fans could really use a win.
Advertisement
Will men’s basketball’s game against Minnesota help USC turn the page? It will depend on these storylines.
With that in mind, here are five things to watch as the Trojans take on the Golden Gophers on Friday in their third and final game of their first true road trip of the season:
The two teams’ momentum is starkly opposite
As I mentioned, USC comes into this matchup on a rough two-game losing streak.
Minnesota, on the other hand, is thriving. The Gophers have won 6 of their past 7 games, including 2 games against ranked opponents and a third win against a conference opponent.
The Gophers’ most recent game was their best win of the season, an upset win over No. 19 Iowa. It’s safe to say they are not struggling in the morale department.
Advertisement
Minnesota’s home court advantage
Minnesota’s 10-5 record isn’t fantastic. The Golden Gophers lost some games in non conference play that the Trojans would have likely won.
But they are a different team at home. Minnesota is a perfect 9-0 at Williams Arena this season. Both of their ranked wins have come at home.
USC, on the other hand, is 2-2 on the road and 1-2 in conference road games.
Will Chad Baker-Mazara be back in the starting lineup — and run up the scoring column?
I was really puzzled about how Chad Baker-Mazara was utilized by Eric Musselman in USC’s most recent loss to Michigan State. He was held out of the starting lineup, played only 18 minutes and took only 6 shots, scoring 4 points.
Advertisement
If he was feeling under the weather or something was going on behind the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/5-things-watch-usc-mens-131030744.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-01-08 13:10:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
