The results from Selection Sunday are in: After finishing with both the most conference and overall wins in the Pac-12, the Trojans made the NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed in the Western region.
Their first matchup will be Saturday against the winner of Wichita State and Drake, who will become the No. 11 seed.
The West Region! 👀#SelectionSunday | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/kDM1bfg59n
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 14, 2021
“[We’re] full of excitement, especially for the guys who returned from last season,” redshirt senior guard Tahj Eaddy said after the seeding reveal. " … For all of our freshman, everybody coming in, we’re just looking to do something special.”
Wichita State boasts a 16-5 overall record, winning eight straight games before losing in the semifinals of the AAC conference tournament. Drake earned a 25-4 record, with impressive wins over Kansas State and Loyola Chicago, but lost in the finals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.
USC head coach Andy Enfield knows tough matchups are ahead, especially since there are only a few returners from last season’s squad.
“There’s pressure on every team in the tournament, that’s what March Madness is all about,” he said. “But this is a whole different team. We only have three guys on our team that played last year on this team, and they didn’t play three, four, five years ago when we went to the NCAA tournament.”
The Wichita State-Drake matchup is Thursday, and USC will begin its tournament play against the winner on Saturday.
The Trojans are used to tough games with few days of preparation in between. USC’s regular season schedule included two games in three days against the Washington schools and a tough homestand against Stanford and UCLA with two days in between to end the season. The Trojans won all four of these games.
It will be freshman forward phenom Evan Mobley’s first go-around in the NCAA Tournament, and he is preparing to face off against tough competition.
“Anything can happen. It’s March Madness, crazy things happen during this time of year,” Mobley said. “You just have to stay locked in, stay focused and do your job to the best of your ability.”
Four other Pac-12 teams made it to the dance: Colorado as a No. 5 seed, Oregon as a No. 7 seed and conference tournament winner Oregon State as a No. 12 seed. Meanwhile, UCLA will have to earn its 11 seed in a play-in game against Michigan State.
With Gonzaga and Iowa leading the Western region of the bracket as No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively, the Trojans will have to earn their madness story this March. Their journey begins on Saturday in Indianapolis.