In their Big Ten home opener, the USC Trojans fell to the Washington Huskies 84-76.
With newfound energy in the air of Galen Center following a No. 24 ranking in the AP Top 25 and an 8-0 start, the Trojans came out flying. They jumped out to a 19-7 lead just eight minutes into the contest, thanks to a great opening sequence from graduate guard Chad Baker-Mazara and a barrage of buckets from freshman guard Jerry Easter II.
The rest of the first half continued the same way, with the Trojans being able to score at will, shooting 50% from the field while also playing stifling defense, holding the Huskies to a poor 34.3%. At one point the Trojans scored 13 unanswered, and left the Huskies feeling like their trip to Southern California would be a disaster.
At the half, the Trojans led 48-30, in full control of the game. Four players had at least seven points with Baker-Mazara and Easter in double digits already.
“In the first half, we followed the game plan the way we were supposed to. We bodied people up on dribble drives,” said head coach Eric Musselman.
That is when an all time collapse began. Up 18 with the game headed for a blowout, the Trojans went cold and the Huskies became red hot. In the opening three minutes of the second half, Washington went on a game changing 13-0 run that included five straight misses from USC. Now back within five points, the Huskies had all of the momentum.
After a tough second half of shooting just 25% from the field, the Trojans ultimately caved late in the game. USC gave up the lead for the first time with 4:07 left to play. The Huskies never relinquished it.
Freshman phenom center Hannes Steinbach helped break the game open for Washington with 14 points and eight rebounds in the second half alone. Before coming to America, Steinbach dominated the German national team, leading them to a silver medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup and finishing as the leading scorer against the United States.
When asked about the 6-foot-11 Steinbach before the game, Musselman said, “Obviously he is a huge factor in this game. We have to be ready for his presence on the offensive glass.”
Unfortunately for Musselman, his squad wasn’t ready. Steinbach finished with 16 total rebounds including eight offensive boards.
“[Steinbach] is going to be an NBA first round draft pick, and he played like it. When you’re an NBA first round pick, what you do is you go out and you dominate the game. And that’s what he did,” Musselman said. “When a guy has 24 and 16, he dominated the game and he outplayed our entire team. Oh and he’s a freshman.”
Another huge component in the Huskies comeback was the second half emergence of former Trojan, Desmond Claude. The senior guard was ice-cold in the first half, shooting 2-of-8 with only four points in his return to Galen. Something clicked at halftime, as he went on to go 6-8 with 18 points including two clutch-time killer buckets, putting the nail in the coffin of his former squad.
“We didn’t have enough guys have good games tonight,” Musselman said. “I thought on both sides of the ball we stunk.”
Fortunately, it’s only December, and the Trojans have plenty of time to recoup and find new ways to win without Rodney Rice and Amarion Dickerson who are both set to miss extended periods of time with injuries.
USC will have a chance to bounce back this Tuesday on the road at the University of San Diego at 6 p.m.