“SCoop” is a column by Nolan Ezzet about USC’s sports teams.
Two weeks ago, the Trojan spirit was dwindling. USC had lost two straight games against Oregon and Oregon State, making the Trojans a bubble team at best. But since then, they have been electric and are now on a four-game win streak. A spot in the tournament is now theirs to lose.
Two weeks ago, I said that if the Trojans want to earn a spot in March Madness, they must improve their 3-point shooting and assist numbers. They’ve done exactly that; USC has recorded double-digit assists and shot over 40% from behind the arc in each of its four games over the last two weeks.
USC began this four-game stretch at Galen Center, where they faced Cal and Stanford. USC shot over 50% from deep and recorded at least 16 assists in each of the two games. The Trojans beat the Golden Bears 97-60 and the Cardinal 85-75. USC then hit the road to play Colorado and Utah where the Trojans remained hot, shooting over 40% from 3-point range and recording double-digit assists in both games. They took down the Buffaloes 84-65 and the Utes 62-49.
Although USC had a double-digit margin of victory in all four games, the matchups against Stanford and Utah were tighter than the scores suggest; it never felt like either game was sealed until regulation ended. The only visible flaw in the Trojans’ performance was their ball handling. They had double-digit turnovers in both games, which prevented them from going on large runs. Had USC gone up against ranked opponents instead of Stanford and Utah, the Trojans might have lost both those games due to the turnovers alone.
As the Pac-12 and March Madness tournaments approach, the Trojans need to maintain their momentum from 3-point range and keep sharing the ball well, but they also need to take care of the ball and decrease their turnover totals.
It all starts with fifth-year guard Drew Peterson, who has the third most turnovers in the Pac-12 with 82. If the Trojans can fix this issue while maintaining the momentum they’ve gathered over the last two weeks, they should have no problem making the NCAA tournament.
Other than turnovers, the other thing that seems to plague this Trojan squad is injuries. USC has only played nine games with its full roster healthy. During those nine games, however, the Trojans are 8-1 with an average margin of victory of 11.9 points.
Redshirt junior forward Joshua Morgan and sophomore guard Reese Dixon-Waters returning to full health will help bolster the Trojans’ efficiency on both sides of the ball. USC just needs to hope Morgan, Dixon-Waters and its other key players don’t go down again. But of course, that is mostly out of anyone’s control.
For now, the Trojans need to focus on taking care of the ball and riding the momentum of the past four games.
USC will face a tough No. 8 Arizona team next week, followed by their season-closer against Arizona State. As long as the Trojans win at least one of these games and then proceed to play well in the Pac-12 tournament, I have little doubt that they will make an appearance in March.
“SCoop” runs every other Tuesday.