In a season full of lows, the Trojans are still searching for just how far down rock bottom can go. A mere month after a hope-inspiring victory over Stanford in what looked to be a mid-season turnaround, a now-disheartened USC has fallen to 3-10 in conference play after a 31-point loss to Stanford. The Trojans now hold the last-place spot in the Pac-12, and have a 1-8 record in their last nine games.

Inconsistent rotation has been a common thread of the season for USC (9-15, 3-10 Pac-12). This was evident in Saturday’s game against Stanford (12-11, 7-6), which saw a different starting lineup for the 12th time in 24 games. 

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“Something’s got to change,” said Associate Head Coach Chris Capko in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “I would assume we have our 13th different starting lineup [against Utah].”

One thing that hasn’t been inconsistent is USC’s rebounding woes. The Trojans sit in last place in defensive rebounding percentage in the Pac-12, and give up the 12th-most offensive rebounds per game out of any team in the country.

Rebounding is certainly something USC will have to emphasize as it looks forward to Thursday’s game against Utah (15-9, 6-7). The Utes are second in the Pac-12 in rebounding offense, and are led by 7-foot fifth-year center Branden Carlson who averages 17 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. Containing Carlson and beating him on the boards will no doubt be a tall task for the Trojans’ bigs.

“Just play hard, be physical with [Carlson],” said sophomore forward Vincent Iwuchukwu in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Then just have good mental resilience and be able to consistently just play defense for 40 minutes.” 

Coming off of a disappointing 85-77 loss to Arizona State, Utah will likely come into Galen Center ready to fight on the boards and put USC’s resilience to the test.

Thursday’s game is a must-win for the Utes, who currently sit in 7th place in the Pac-12. After a strong start to the season, Utah has dropped four of the last five games, putting them in danger of missing the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.

Utah will look to come out firing, and the Trojans must do what they can to keep them in check. A key to doing this is to control the Utes’ 3-point shooting. Utah ranks fifth-best in the Pac-12 in 3-point percentage. On the other side of the ball, USC ranks dead last in 3-point percentage defense in the Pac-12.

“We’ve got to do a better job from the start of making them uncomfortable,” Capko said. “[Against Stanford] we didn’t play hard enough. We weren’t focused enough at times, and that’s got to change.”

One of the players the Trojans will likely be looking to make uncomfortable is Utah senior guard Gabe Madsen. Madsen currently shoots the second-highest clip from 3-point range in the Pac-12 at 40.9%. Madsen is also not scared of shooting the 3-ball, either. With 21 combined attempts in his last two games, USC will have to run him off the 3-point line if they hope to limit the damage Utah does from range.

On the offensive side of the ball, it needs to start with veteran fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis. The Trojans’ leading scorer is in the midst of a slump since returning from an injury, averaging only 9.2 points per game compared to his season average of 16.4 points per game.

“Just keep shooting,” said Ellis in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “In basketball, there’s ups and downs, and you just got to keep going. You’ll eventually get out of it.”

With an at-large bid into March Madness out of the realm of possibility for USC, the only way for the Trojans to go dancing is by winning the Pac-12 tournament. 

“Take it one game at a time, and control what we can control,” Ellis said. 

USC will need momentum if they hope to take the Pac-12 tournament title, and that starts with a victory against Utah.

The Trojans will take on the Utes Thursday at 8 p.m. at Galen Center.