The USC men’s basketball (8-10, 2-4) team dropped its third straight game in an 82-67 loss to the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats (13-4, 4-2) at McKale Memorial Center Wednesday night. The struggles away from home continue for the Trojans, as they hold a 1-5 record on the road this season.
Arizona fifth-year guard Caleb Love finished with a game-high 20 points and dished out five assists.
USC senior forward DJ Rodman scored a team-high 16 points and added seven rebounds.
USC freshman guard Bronny James played a career-high 30 minutes, finishing with 11 points, five assists and six rebounds.
The Trojans once again entered the game with a handful of injuries: freshman guard Isaiah Collier (hand) and fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis (hamstring) did not play, and senior center Joshua Morgan played a limited 12 minutes after missing the last two games due to illness. Entering the game, Morgan looked like a completely different player, as his illness caused him to lose 15 pounds over the last week.
“I am very proud of [Morgan],” USC head coach Andy Enfield said. “He could barely eat until yesterday.”
The challenging atmosphere in McKale Memorial Center – Arizona is now 9-0 at home – sparked a 7-0 run for the Wildcats to start the game. The Trojans had no answer to start, falling into early foul trouble. The Wildcats found themselves in the bonus with 11 minutes to go in the first half.
After a sluggish 1-for-5 start from the field, USC woke up offensively, and frequent movement without the ball led to better looks for the Trojans. The Trojans finished with 12 assists on 13 baskets in the first half.
Leading the charge was James, who came out firing, scoring nine points and converting four of five shots from the field in the first half. It was a completely different version of James, who didn’t score in his last two games.
However, Arizona out-hustled the Trojans in the first half, grabbing 25 rebounds and disrupting the Trojans’ ability to secure any type of lead. While Arizona’s senior center Oumar Ballo was quiet from the field early on, his impact was still felt in the paint, contributing eight rebounds of his own in the half.
Arizona led for the entire first half; however, the Trojans stayed within striking distance by protecting the ball, only coughing it up six times.
Yet, a 7-0 run at the end of the half pushed the margin to 10 for the Wildcats, heading into halftime up 45-35.
“It seemed like every time we were trying to get back in it … they went on a four or five to nothing run,” Enfield said.
The second half was a different story for the Trojans, as the offense struggled to find rhythm yet again. Sophomore guard Pelle Larson and Love started the second half scoring for the Wildcats, opening up the lead to 14 points.
The Trojans succeeded in their 2-3 zone, forcing Arizona to take tough shots. However, the Trojans didn’t capitalize on Arizona’s missed shots and allowed the Wildcats to score 22 second-chance points in the half.
“I thought our zone was effective; it slowed them down,” Enfield said. “We got some turnovers out of it and some challenged shots.”
USC’s key guys – James and junior forward Kobe Johnson – went cold, combining for eight points on 3-for-8 shooting in the second half. In addition, the Trojans’ protection of the ball got sloppy, resulting in 13 turnovers in the half.
“[Johnson] has to understand what a good shot is … He takes a lot of tough shots,” Enfield said. “And he does feel the pressure to create without Boogie or Isaiah in the lineup. But we’re very confident in him to take those shots and make those.”
After a great start to the game, the Trojans finished with the same number of turnovers as assists, 19.
Arizona controlled for most of the game, even with shooting a poor 40 percent – by their standards – from the field. Early foul trouble for the Trojans hurt the team down the stretch, as four of USC’s big men – Rodman, Morgan, sophomore Vince Iwuchukwu and junior Harrison Hornery – had four personal fouls each. The foul trouble allowed Ballo and the other Wildcats to attack the paint without hesitation.
USC couldn’t gain any monument in the second half, and eight turnovers in the final 10 minutes hindered any chance of victory for the Trojans late in the game.
The Trojans have a chance to finish the three-game road stretch on a high note with a visit to Arizona State (10-7, 4-2) on Saturday at 11 a.m. PST.