In a game that saw a career-high in points for No. 21 USC’s starting backcourt, three fouled-out Trojans and 56 combined fouls, the main thing that stood out was how similar Sunday night’s game was to nearly every game last season.
But perhaps the biggest difference between the two is the Trojans’ ability to actually close out a tight game. This time around, they relied on their dynamic backcourt duo, who finally showed potential, en route to a high-scoring 93-86 win over Wichita State.
The leaders of the backcourt were the highly touted guards who have only played a handful of times, but have demonstrated immense potential after not playing together at all last year. Senior Rodney Rice and sophomore Alijah Arenas who, from start to finish, kept the Trojans in the game finally proved their potential as a duo against a truly tough opponent.
Both set new career highs in points, with Rice scoring 32 and Arenas putting up 30. Since the teams’ first exhibition game nearly a full month ago, the two have yet to be as dynamic together as they were in Sunday night’s victory. But the potential was there, Arenas’ efforts in last Monday and Sunday’s games earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors, the first in his career.
If the two can keep up the pace and score alongside each other, head coach Eric Musselman’s team could enter the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his three years at USC. One of the only questions this squad faces is how far the two could take the rest of the team.
While the duo’s success was a sight to see, the foul-heavy frontcourt nearly overshadowed the game. Two of the three Trojans who fouled out started the game; junior forward Jacob Cofie and freshman center Darius Ratliff left what was meant to be a strong frontcourt on offense and defense in a stagnant-like position.
After suffering from severe back spasms in USC’s first game of the season, Cofie returned Sunday night, and whether he was on a minutes restriction or not, he played only five minutes in the first half before fouling out in the second half,playing a total of just 16 minutes.
Similar to last year, Cofie was still the defensive anchor in those 16 minutes, blocking three shots and solidifying USC’s dominance on both ends of the court. Whether he can stay healthy and not foul out of games, like he did four times last year, could be massive for Musselman’s squad later down the line, especially during conference play.
In just his second professional game, Ratliff similarly failed to eclipse the 20-minute mark on the court, fouling out right after Cofie did and leaving Musselman with just a few big men options off the bench. With sophomore center Eric Reibe out for the next few months, Ratliff’s foul troubles could prove to be a major issue if they aren’t cleaned up.
In Cofie and Ratliff’s absence, senior forward Joshua Hughes and senior guard Isaac Bruns tried to take the brunt of the work in the post and elsewhere, but ultimately struggled, recording a -5 and -7 plus-minus rating, respectively.
In what is supposed to be a deep bench, depth is only enough for the Trojans when everyone is healthy and players aren’t fouling out. When that happens, USC can truly unlock its potential, but until then, it will have to navigate the difficulties of the foul-heavy frontcourt.
The last time USC had three players foul out was in 2018 against a Vanderbilt team led by now Los Angeles Clippers guard Darius Garland in the Trojans’ second game of the season that year. That Trojan team lost the game and went 16-17, failing to make the March Madness tournament.
Despite the foul trouble on Sunday, Wichita State managed to be even worse, inducing 30 fouls, which resulted in a massive 37 made free throws for USC. Following last season’s struggles at the line, where the Trojans shot just 72.4%, they shot 87% from the charity stripe Sunday, improving their season average to 81.8%.
If the Trojans can continue to solidify their dominance at the line and improve the season’s average from last year’s by even 9%, those close games that they failed to close out last season could result in wins this year, as it did against the Shockers on Sunday.
USC’s next test to see if it can play a full 40 minutes against another good team will be Wednesday at 8 p.m. when the Trojans travel to Haas Pavilion to play UC Berkeley.
Edited by Adriana Brady and Sammie Vassallo