Many went wrong for the USC male basketball team Tuesday evening’s defeat against Northwestern. However, a particular area has stood out as a massive problem for Trojan horses: the rebound.
Upon entering the match, the Wildcats had an average of 34.5 rebounds per game. Against Trojan horses, they had 22 offensive rebounds alone and 43 in total – more than 25% more than their average season.
The USC, on the other hand, had only seven offensive rebounds and only 27 boards in total. Consequently, Northwestern was able to score many points of second chance, while the Trojan horses had to largely count on the production of their initial shots to even stay in the game.
Part of the disparity can be attributed to the size. The only USC player on 6’8 “to appear in the match was Josh Cohen, who only played three minutes. Northwestern, on the other hand, obtained 36 minutes combined from 7 ‘Centers Matthew Nicholson and Keenan Fitzmorris.
Even for a smaller team, however, USC simply cannot afford to have this level of disparity of rebound against them. If Trojan horses want to make a strong push towards a potential offer of the NCAA tournament, they will have to be better on glass in the future.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC male basketball must bounce back in more ways than one
