Like his U.S.C. The team slipped further from the NCAA Tournament bubble, falling flat against its fiercest rival, frustrated coach Eric Musselman I couldn’t help but lament what could have happened.
If the Trojans had Rodney Rice, maybe things would have gone differently in his second season.
Advertisement
“I haven’t really talked about it in a long time,” Musselman said. “But we have three games left, so I’ll talk about that now. Running our offense and all that without a guy like him is definitely problematic.”
Of course, after losing 81-62 to crosstown rival UCLA,there wasn’t much else for USC to find solace in Tuesday night. Perhaps Rice, out since late November, would have improved the Trojans’ ailing offense. Maybe first year Alijah Arenaswho only debuted in late January, could have found his rhythm more quickly with a full offseason.
Learn more: USC men’s basketball team ultimately loses lead, suffers devastating loss to Oregon
However, no contingency will solve USC’s problems in its last three games. The loss to UCLA was the fourth in a row. As of Tuesday night, the Trojans were out of the tournament field for good, a fact Musselman was well aware of.
Advertisement
It’s not set in stone yet. But the question now is whether the Trojans have the ability to get back into the mix in March.
This path back for USC would certainly be smoother with a more potent offense. Sixth year senior Chad Baker-Mazara led the team with 25 points against UCLA despite dealing with knee soreness.
But the rest of the Trojans’ offense shot under 30 percent — another problem Musselman attributed to Rice’s absence.
“The lack of shots really hurts us,” Musselman said. “I haven’t really talked about it in a long time. But not having Rodney Rice’s shot is killing us. It’s killing our spacing. It’s killing our ball assist.”
Advertisement
The arrival of Arenas, the Trojans’ highly touted freshman, was supposed to solve that problem. Instead, 10 games into his college career, Arenas is having a hard time improving his offensive efficiency.
USC coach Eric Musselman reacts to the Trojans’ loss to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday. (Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
Arenas had four first-half turnovers in nine minutes and didn’t make a shot from the field until midway through the second half. The freshman has shot just 8 of 29 in his last three games. He finished Tuesday with 10 points, four rebounds and five turnovers.
“It’s a learning curve for him,” Musselman said. “He’s an incredible talent who has an awesome ceiling and he has an incredible future. But in a game like tonight, he’s learning. You can see it there. He’s learning on the fly.”
Advertisement
There isn’t much time left to learn. The Trojans will face No. 12 Nebraska on Saturday, before traveling a few days later to Washington, which beat them earlier in the season. A rematch with UCLA awaits at the Galen Center the following Saturday.
USC won’t have much luck against this slate if it can’t find some consistency on both ends, but the Trojans had their moments on Tuesday. They took an early lead thanks to Baker-Mazara, who followed a 13-point outburst Saturday by knocking down three straight 3s in three minutes.
Later, about midway through the second half, Baker-Mazara hit another 3 to cut UCLA’s lead to just five points. And for a brief moment, it looked like USC might find a way.
But then, in the final seconds of the shot clock, UCLA star guard Donovan Dent fired a deep three-pointer with 10 minutes remaining. It rustled. A sold-out crowd at Pauley Pavilion roared.
Advertisement
Dent finished with 30 points, as the Trojans never recovered. Musselman, meanwhile, was thinking about something his wife, Danyelle, had said to him.
“Take a 20-point scorer away from any team and see what he does,” Musselman recalled telling his wife. “Take Dent away from them and let’s see what they do. That’s a fact.”
But the facts, for USC, are pretty grim at this point. And with just three games remaining, time is running out for the Trojans to change that.
Sign up for more USC news with Times of Troy. In your inbox every Monday morning.
This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
