USC men’s basketball (16-17) has one more go-around this season.
The Trojans will take part in the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas instead of either the NIT or CBI, two of the traditional postseason tournaments for teams that fail to qualify for the Big Dance. The 16-team event primarily features teams from the Big Ten, Big 12 and Big East that failed to qualify for the NCAAs, among others, and will begin on March 31 before crowning a champion on April 6.
This opportunity comes after the Trojans lost to Purdue 76-71 last week in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament and eliminated their hopes of making March Madness.
USC’s first opponent in the CBC will be Tulane on April 1 at 8 p.m. at MGM Grand Garden Arena. The Green Wave are currently 19-14 overall and finished American Athletic Conference play with a 12-6 mark, good for third in conference play. Tulane is led by redshirt sophomore guard Rowan Brumbaugh’s 15.7 points per game and should set up a competitive first matchup for the Trojans.
With a win over the Green Wave, USC would face either Villanova or former Pac-12 foe Colorado in the quarterfinals at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3. Should USC win its second game, it will move onto the semifinals on April 5, with the finals on April 6. The semifinals and final will take place at T-Mobile Arena.
While USC’s first season under Musselman had glimpses of promise, the Trojans collapsed in the final month of the season and failed to make the NCAAs despite sitting in a position to claim an at-large bid after wins against then-No. 13 Illinois and then-No. 7 Michigan State.
Despite the late-season meltdown, USC had players that proved to be crucial to the team’s on-court success, most notably redshirt freshman guard Wesley Yates III and junior guard Desmond Claude. The Trojans’ success beyond this season will involve retaining Claude and Yates III, while also integrating incoming freshmen and five-star guard Alijah Arenas and other highly touted incoming recruits into the starting lineup and rotation.
By playing in the CBC, USC will also look to send out its seven graduating players in a positive manner, as all but two of them joined the team just for one season to help set the culture and foundation for the Musselman era at USC. By taking part in the CBC, the seven graduating players will have one more opportunity to represent the Trojans and give themselves another opportunity to bolster their NBA draft stocks, with none of them currently listed on any major mock drafts.
The Muss Bus will roll into Las Vegas in two weeks’ time and look to end a rough first season on a positive note, where the Trojans will look to send their seniors out right when they take the court for the final time in Cardinal and Gold before welcoming aboard the new recruits for year two.