Trojans look to put a halt to losing streak
The USC Trojans men’s basketball team will return home after a short two-game road trip up the California coastline. The Trojans (9-14, 1-11) lost both games in heartbreaking fashion.
In the first game against the California Bears, the Trojans were beaten at the buzzer, 70-69 by a Tyrone Wallace three-pointer. In the following game against the Stanford Cardinal, the Trojans let a six-point lead in the first half slip en route to a 70-62 loss.
With those two losses, the Trojans have now lost eight in a row and 10 of their last 11. Despite a few second-half collapses, the Trojans have played fairly well against Pac-12 competition. Unfortunately, the Trojans are lacking the results to back their play. During their eight-game losing the streak, the Trojans lost six games by fewer than eight points.
Things won’t get any easier as the Oregon Ducks (17-7, 7-4) head into the Galen Center on Wednesday night. The Ducks have won nine straight against the Trojans since 2009.
The last time USC and Oregon faced off, the Ducks were able to come away with a 75-67 victory. Oregon, using its size advantage, outrebounded the Trojans 45-37, a common theme this season for Andy Enfield’s squad.
A bright point for Trojan fans is the recent play of guards Jordan McLaughlin and Katin Reinhardt.
After being held to 0 points on 0-7 shooting against Utah last week, McLaughlin had a strong road trip. In the two games against Cal and Stanford, McLaughlin finished with a total of 38 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and five steals.
After a slow start to the season, Reinhardt has come on as of late. The transfer from UNLV has scored in double digits, including a 35-point explosion last week, in seven of the last eight games.
While McLaughlin has finally come out of his slump, second-year big man Nikola Jovanovic has struggled lately. The 6-foot-11 Serbian has been held under double digits in the last three games. This comes after Jovanovic scored in double digits for 12 straight games.
The USC offense goes and comes with the play of McLaughlin and Jovanovic. Along with the rest of the team, both players have had up and down seasons, which is expected with such a young squad.
If the Trojans hope to compete against the Ducks, both McLaughlin and Jovanovic will need to play to their potential.
The Trojans have been outrebounded by 50 over their last seven games. The Ducks will look to expose this weakness. Led by the front-court duo of Jordan Bell and Elgin Cook, the Ducks field one of the larger front courts in the Pac-12 and are currently ranked 34th in the country with 38.2 rebounds per game.
USC will need to rebound as a team and hope Jovanovic can stay out of foul trouble. Against Stanford, the sophomore was held to just 18 minutes due to foul trouble, helping Stanford to a 50-35 rebounding edge. Along with their interior size, the Ducks are led by the second-leading scorer in the Pac-12, Joseph Young.
In his previous game against the Trojans, Young scored 19 points including a pair of three-pointers, and hit four free throws down the stretch to seal a victory for the Ducks.
Oregon, who currently sits at third in the Pac-12 standings, will enter the contest riding a three-game winning streak.
Another obstacle that USC has been forced to overcome this season has been their lack of experience.
The team ranks as the fourth- youngest team in the country and first among the power five conferences in terms of minutes playe by class, according to Statsheet.com. They are also one of 15 teams in the country without a senior on the roster and have only one scholarship junior playing for them this season, in Strahinja Gavrilovich.
The Trojans will look to halt their current losing streak and finish the season strong with just seven games left.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Galen Center. The game will air on ESPN 2.