In the buildup to Saturday night’s battle between USC and UCLA at Galen Center, there was little indication of just how poorly the 2023-24 campaign has gone for the two Los Angeles rivals. A sold-out crowd roared as the players took the court, with the intensity matching that of a game with much higher stakes.

Unfortunately, soon after, the game started. What followed the rousing anticipation was a contest worthy of little fanfare at all, and one that showed why the two teams have fallen so far down the Pac-12 pecking order. The Trojans (8-12, 2-7 Pac-12) and Bruins (9-11, 4-5) combined to shoot 35.6% from the field with just a 1.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

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“We’re very appreciative of the fan support and it was a great environment to play in,” said Head Coach Andy Enfield. “We just didn’t hold up our part of the bargain.”

Enfield did come in with a game plan that appeared to stifle the Bruins at first. Sophomore forward Vincent Iwuchukwu came into the starting lineup in place of injured freshman guard Isaiah Collier. Iwuchukwu started alongside senior forward Joshua Morgan, forming the base of a zone defense that stifled the Bruin offense from the opening whistle. The Trojans had eight blocks in the first half, as their defensive intensity kept them in a game where they had no energy or creativity on the offensive end. 

Towards the end of the first half, UCLA began to poke holes in USC’s zone defense, spearheaded by sophomore guard Dylan Andrews who led the Bruins with 20 points and four assists. 

Enfield had no answers for what eventually turned into a decisive 22-2 run, sticking with his two-big lineup that clogged the paint on offense and could not box out on defense. The Trojans lost the offensive rebounding battle 10-0 in the first half and took an 11-point deficit into the break.

Perhaps the most critical moment of the first half came via freshman guard Bronny James, who had some words for Andrews after a monster block into the stands. He was issued a technical foul and was immediately removed from the game by Enfield. Rather than utilizing James’ energy to provide a much-needed spark, the coaching staff played him sparingly for the rest of the game. He played just 15 minutes, having previously averaged nearly 27 minutes per game since Collier’s injury. 

“We know our players better than you do, as far as what they go through in practice and how they’re feeling and things like that,” Enfield said. “So sometimes when you look out there, it’s not exactly what you see.”

As the second half began, the Trojan faithful rose to their feet, urged by DJ Mal-Ski to stand until the first USC bucket of the period. One ill-fated possession passed by, then another. Fans began to sheepishly slump into their seats as they came to a troubling conclusion: This Trojan offense simply cannot be trusted to put the ball in the basket.

USC shot an abysmal 29.6% from the field in the second half, scoring just 24 points and eventually falling 65-50.

“Unfortunately, tonight we didn’t really have a hot hand,” Enfield said. “So when you say who’s the ball supposed to go to, I’m not too sure sometimes.”

USC hoped the hot hand might come in the form of fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis, who was returning from a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury. Ellis got off to a quick start, scoring 8 of the first 10 points for the Trojans, but missed his final seven shots and did not score after the 13:38 mark of the first half.

Amid a five-game losing streak, the Trojans are running out of time to put it all together. Having been ranked as high as 16th in the country, USC’s only likely path to the NCAA Tournament will be through an automatic bid if they can win the Pac-12 Tournament in March. Currently sitting dead last in the conference, the Trojans have just 11 games remaining in the regular season to fix an increasingly long list of problems. 

“Going into February, we’ve got to lock in and stack up some wins,” Ellis said. “We’ve got to get sound defensively and get our offense figured out, and do everything we can to prepare for the Pac-12 tournament because we have to win it.”

USC will be back in action Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against Oregon at Galen Center.