One day shy of the one year anniversary of his hiring as the head coach of USC men’s basketball, Eric Musselman saw his first season come to a close.
The Trojans lost 60-59 to Villanova last Thursday in the quarterfinals of the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas in a very winnable game.The pattern of squandering a double-digit lead reemerged against the Wildcats after plaguing USC numerous times during the regular season.
Throughout the campaign, Musselman was brutally honest about his team’s strengths and weaknesses, and knew that everything had to work perfectly for the Trojans to do well this season, especially considering USC did not have a true big man on its roster.
All but two players left the team following the 2023-24 season after former head coach Andy Enfield departed for SMU, prompting athletic director Jen Cohen to hire Musselman from Arkansas but leaving him with the difficult task of scraping together a brand new roster.
Musselman managed to put together a new-look team comprised of mostly mid-major transfers that fans were initially unfamiliar with, but USC started the season pretty well. They beat UTSA in an exhibition game at Galen Center on October 15 and then upset preseason No. 6 Gonzaga 11 days later in a charity exhibition in Palm Desert. Throughout the year, junior guard Desmond Claude proved to be the team’s go-to scorer and ball-handler and was crucial to helping set the foundation for Musselman’s rebuild.
The momentum continued into the start of the regular season, with the Trojans racing off to a 5-1 start. Even after a brutal Thanksgiving week in Palm Desert that saw USC lose to Saint Mary’s and New Mexico, the Trojans finished their non-conference slate 8-3. They also played Oregon and Washington during that stretch and competed very hard with the Ducks and dominated the Huskies in the first two Big Ten games of the season.
During the backhalf of the non-conference stretch, USC saw redshirt freshman guard Wesley Yates III, who transferred from Washington, blossom into arguably the second-best player on the team, especially after both Terrance Williams II and Matt Knowling went down with injuries early in the year. Yates III had a great year offensively, shooting 48% from the field and 44% from downtown.
In addition to Yates III, graduate guard Chibuzo Agbo turned into one of USC’s best three-point shooters. The Boise State and Texas Tech transfer shot 40% from behind the arc and was heavily relied on to rally USC in close games.
Big Ten play, however, proved to be more challenging for the Trojans. USC lost to Michigan and Indiana to start the new year, but then rebounded to win three of its next four, highlighted by a win against then-No. 13 Illinois in Champaign on January 11. Even though USC lost a close battle against UCLA 82-76 on January 27, the Trojans responded with their best and most thrilling win of the season just five days later – a 70-64 win over then-No. 7 Michigan State in which the Trojans never surrendered the lead, and helped put them in the conversation for an at-large spot in March Madness. Even though the Trojans lost against Northwestern and Purdue the following week, they were still in the conversation to make the NCAAs.
That all seemed to change, however, after the Trojans blew a double-digit lead to Minnesota at Galen Center on February 15 and lost 69-66. This would be the first of five straight losses for USC that saw the team dip below .500 for the first time in the season. Even though the Trojans dominated Washington in a 92-61 win on senior night on March 5, they were crushed in the rematch at UCLA 90-63 three nights later to finish with a Big Ten record of 7-13 and end the regular season 15-16. Due to the late-season collapse, the Trojans’ only hope to make March Madness was to win the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Despite the Trojans faltering late in the season, graduate forward Rashaun Agee became a bright spot for USC down the stretch. After seeing more and more minutes as the Trojans progressed through conference play, Musselman gave Agee his first start against Michigan State. He would only start two more games in the ensuing stretch, but after USC failed to complete a comeback against Ohio State on February 26, Agee was named to the starting lineup for the rest of the season. After rejoining the lineup permanently, Agee scored double digits in all but one game.
In the Big Ten Tournament, USC earned the 14th seed, and beat 11th-seeded Rutgers 97-89 in double overtime to advance to the second round and face sixth-seeded Purdue. Despite playing much more competitively than when the teams faced each other in West Lafayette in the regular season, the Trojans lost 76-71, ending their hopes of making March Madness.
Even though it did not make the NCAAs, USC accepted an invitation to take part in the College Basketball Crown. USC’s first round opponent was Tulane, who entered the game with a 19-14 record. The Trojans dominated the Green Wave from start to finish, and won 89-60, with Agee continuing his stellar play. Two days later, however, the Trojans lost to Villanova and saw their season come to an end with a 17-18 record.
Even though USC’s season had some notable highlights, such as the team’s performances against Illinois and Michigan State, the Trojans did struggle in several key aspects. The lack of a true big man led to USC being pushed around in the post and surrender points in the paint. USC also struggled to maintain double-digit leads, which cost the Trojans several games they should’ve won. They fell behind early in too many games, creating holes the team couldn’t always climb out of.
Even though USC finished Musselman’s first season with a losing record, he had to oversee a full rebuild of the roster and fans needed to be patient this season. What’s more, now that Musselman is committed to USC for the foreseeable future, he has been recruiting relentlessly. He has five-star guard Alijah Arenas and four-star guards Jerry Easter II and Elzie Harrington arriving for the 2025-26 season. Musselman has also secured commitments from transfers Jacob Cofie (forward, Virginia), Amarion Dickerson (forward, Robert Morris), Keonte Jones (forward, CSUN), and big man Drew Fielder (center, Georgetown) in the portal. Fielder’s commitment will be crucial and help fill the vacancy USC had at center this season.
Even with all of the players coming in, USC has now seen Isaiah Elohim, Kevin Patton Jr. and Yates III enter the portal. Yates III’s departure is a blow to the Trojans, especially with how much he flourished playing under Musselman. With Yates III leaving the program, USC must do everything it can to keep Claude from going elsewhere too, as he was consistently the best player this year.
That said, USC is likely to return Agee and Williams II, and is hoping that senior guard Saint Thomas’ waiver for an extra year due to leaving Loyola Chicago in 2023 to focus on his mental health is approved. The return of this trio will certainly be beneficial to USC building continuity under Musselman.
Even though the first year of the Muss Bus was a struggle, there were flashes of potential that showed that USC is on a strong trajectory and will make big progress this offseason in year two under Musselman.