It was not the assertion of the tournament, Eric Musselman hoped that his team would fight for his first step as a USC coach. But the season had failed through a frustrating February, and now its Trojan horses have been left on tiptoe along the edge of Big Dix Cutline tournament, a discouraging place he did not expect them to be in his early days.
There was no change all this now. What USC Could still do, with the last Big Ten team on the bridge for their last home game, was a winner and anything but ensuring that he is in a field that he should have easily done in the first place.
The USC would not have much trouble with this Wednesday because it sent Washington, 92-61Finally has put an end to a frustrating sequence of five consecutive defeats.
“We knew we had the pressure to win this match tonight,” said Musselman. “Clear and simple.”
The victory would not technically guarantee USC its place in the Big Ten tournament next week. He still needs an Iowa defeat in his next two games to win a place in Indianapolis next week, and even even the equality breaks of the conference could be thorny, if the Hawkeyes beat Michigan State on Thursday evening, instead of Nebraska on Sunday. A victory over the UCLA in the regular season final, however, would seal it for the USC.
No matter what is happening, as a 15th and last probable seeded of the tournament, the USC has a long difficult road to come if it hopes to exceed this.
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This image did not always seem so dark for the USC. In early February, Trojan horses took care of the state of Michigan, the current Big Ten leader, on his home house. They then had 5-5 in the conference, firmly on the bubble of the NCAA tournament.
The USC had lost seven of the eight games since Wednesday, three of which came against teams in the lower half of the Big Ten ranking. This is the worst mark of any conference team in the last month.
The loss, associated with brutal cross-country trips, has wreaked havoc. “When you have lost seven in eight,” said Musselman, “it’s never easy for anyone.”
The coach insisted on the fact that the trip was not an excuse for the poor performance of the Trojans in February, but he once again said how unhappy he was.
“We did not play a good basketball in the section,” said Musselman. “But tonight is our biggest margin of victory. We were in town a little, and we finally recovered our legs. »»
On Wednesday certainly felt a departure from this dark section, at least in pushes. The USC was absolutely dazzling, reversing 15 out of 26 from the three -point beach. With its attack finally in rhythm, the USC also collected 24 assists, its second largest part in any match this season.
Rashaun Agee passed the horses of Trojan first from Deep. Fresh out of his best match of the season – an effort of 29 points in Oregon – Agee reached three three points in the first half. During a section, he scored 10 points in three minutes. He finished with 18.
Desmond Claude, on the other hand, came from his worst performance of the season in Oregon. He scored a single point and missed the nine of his shots in defeat. But Wednesday, he rejected these difficulties without a second reflection.
Claude scored 25 points, in one of his best performances of the season; However, his most important role came in the initiation of the Trojan offense because he was responsible for 11 assists, most of his university career.
“I had to bounce back,” said Claude. “This is what the right players do.”
Huskies are always hung for a while, reducing the advance of the USC to one figure with 15 minutes to play. They never got closer.
Chibuzo Agbo would guarantee that it was from there. He struck three consecutive half-time to bury Washington for good. He would finish with 26, his most score match at the USC.
But the biggest acclamation came after the match was in hand and the USC bench had cleared, while Harrison Horney, a senior, playing in his last match at the Galen Center, hit a three -way corner. Hornery, the latest Holdver from the previous Trojan list, had seen his role decrease all season.
In a last fulfillment of the senior night, Doutery would end on a high note. And the USC would go to its last weekend of the regular season, hoping that the place early in the Big Ten tournament next week would be assured.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.