LOS ANGELES — The spin was so unexpected it sent a shockwave through the Galen Center, the kind of moment USC’s fan base had yet to see through eight games in Eric Musselman’s coaching tenure.
With the lower basin already buzzing, these Trojans grinding and gritting to a six-point second-half lead over undefeated Oregon on Wednesday night, forward Terrance Williams II pump-faked and drove the baseline for a dash of magic. A sharpshooter by trade, Williams suddenly rose up – with the Ducks’ 6-foot-9 Kwame Evans Jr. blanketing his jersey – and slammed a dunk on Evans.
Multiple Trojans on the bench, in unison, leapt from their cushions. Teammates, on their way back down the court, tapped their heads in the universal sign for on-his-head. And a roar built inside Galen Center, the home crowd sensing the unlikeliest of upsets in USC’s Big Ten debut, a complete reversal from a team that had lost itself in the Palm Springs desert a week earlier.
But this scrappy dream of small-ball aggressiveness only lasted so long, an upset bid caving late in a 68-60 loss to 12th-ranked Oregon, these Trojans’ flaws exposed late as a signature win fell a few minutes short. Their offensive execution waned in the late minutes, racking up a bevy of turnovers on a team with no real point guard. With their paint defense sagging, Oregon’s big men suddenly feasted on a team with no real center.
And with a minute left, the fans who had once roared so ferociously started heading for the exits, this USC team simply a hair shy in talent and execution.
Guard Desmond Claude finished with 22 points in a hard-charging effort but committed six turnovers. Chibuzo Agbo Jr. added 18, but shot just 3 for 11 from the floor and fouled out with three minutes left. And USC (5-4 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) finds itself with a three-game losing streak, a program still searching for an end-to-end identity.
The first half proved a glimpse of what USC could one day look like under Musselman, a hive-mind of defenders rotating on a string. Guards closed hard on Oregon shooters, the Ducks (9-0, 1-0) shooting just 9 for 26 from the floor before the break. Perimeter players stuck hands into passing lanes, Agbo simply ripping one first-half steal away from an Oregon ball handler. And Musselman’s small-ball lineup worked wonders, completely shutting down post-entry passes from Ducks guards as big men battled to no avail in the post.
The fire rippled into a slowly filling lower basin in the arena, the crowd offering a hearty cheer for the Trojans as they walked off the court with a 30-23 halftime lead.
As Oregon hung around, sophomore San Diego transfer Kevin Patton Jr. gave USC a massive second-half lift on both ends, making a case for an expanded role in Musselman’s rotation. He blocked a couple of shots, using every inch of his 6-foot-8 frame. He caught a baseline lob from Claude. He buried a late-clock jumper with 7:30 remaining, giving USC a seven-point lead.
But the Trojans got themselves into early second-half foul trouble, as Musselman added to the heap of team whistles with a technical. The Ducks hung around, courtesy of a parade of free throws, sophomore Jackson Shelstad living at the line with 21 second-half points (11 free throws). And after back-to-back 3-pointers from Oregon’s Brandon Angel and Shelstad, the Ducks roared to a sudden three-point lead with four minutes to play.
In inopportune late minutes, Patton’s youth showed, with two back-to-back turnovers in the span of 36 seconds. Oregon’s Angel and Bittle banged their way to back-to-back paint baskets as the clock ticked under three minutes. And as the buzzer sounded on another loss, Claude bent over with his hands on his knees, an all-out effort coming up empty.
More to come on this story.
