On Wednesday night at Galen Center, USC played in front of one of its strongest home crowds of the season, fueling a second half surge that willed the entire arena out of their seats. 

Trailing 85-82, the Trojans (14-14, 6-11 Big Ten) drove up the court, looking to send the matchup to overtime. With 7 seconds left, redshirt freshman guard Wesley Yates III shot a contested three, which bounced off the rim. Looking for a last chance, senior forward Saint Thomas tried to pull down the rebound only for the ball to bounce out of bounds, handing the ball — and the game — back to the Buckeyes.

When the clock hit zero, Ohio State (16-13, 8-10) narrowly escaped Los Angeles with a 87-82 victory, sending USC to its fourth loss in a row and its sixth in seven outings.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

The matchup was an effective must-win for both teams. While Ohio State was safely in the bracket last week, three straight losses — including an embarrassing beatdown at Northwestern (15-13, 6-11) — put their NCAA Tournament hopes on ice. 

The Trojans, on the other hand, watched any slim case for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid evaporate Wednesday night. Simultaneously, they put their own Big Ten Tournament bid in jeopardy. The loss shuffled them to the bottom of a four-way tie at No. 13 in the Big Ten standings; only 15 teams can make the conference tournament.

USC was doomed by a terrible defensive performance in the first half. Ohio State raced out to a 52-38 lead at the break, shooting at an astounding 73.1% rate from the field in the half. The Buckeyes also made 8 of 9 3-pointers in the half, continuously silencing any bursts of energy from the home crowd. 

“I thought the defense in the first half was probably the worst defense that I’ve ever had a team play in my college tenure,” said Head Coach Eric Musselman in the postgame press conference.

Defense has been a serious issue for USC lately; the team has allowed an average of 90 points per game in its last three outings. Four Buckeyes finished with double figures Wednesday, as junior guard Bruce Thornton and fifth-year guard Micah Parrish netted 20 points apiece. Freshman guard John Mobley Jr. added 18.

The Trojans seemed to wake up in the second half, sparking a 16-7 run to cut the lead to four with under ten minutes to play. As Ohio State began to crash back to earth, the late rally brought Galen Center back to life. The noise reached a crescendo as USC closed in on the visitors. 

The comeback attempt was driven by a standout performance from Yates. He tallied 27 points on the night, with 20 of them coming in the second half. The total marked his highest output since his 30-point performance in a trip to Purdue earlier this month. In the postgame press conference, Yates credited his play to Mussleman’s trust and guidance.

“He’s been helping me, every single day, just become a better person. He’s been helping me become a better basketball player. You can see it translate on the court,” Yates III said.

Musselman echoed these sentiments.

“You play him, you let him play through mistakes, and then hopefully, next year when we’re all sitting here, [Yates] is a big part of what we’re trying to do,” Musselman said. “I’m not just trying to coach for this year.” 

His emergence has provided a sole bright spot for the sinking Trojans, as they look to find pillars to build around for next year’s campaign. It’s unclear what Musselman’s squad will look like next year; the team is set to honor 10 departing seniors next week for Senior Night.

There is one silver lining though — the Trojans’ travel schedule has calmed down dramatically. With Ohio State now in the rearview, USC’s final three games are scheduled against their old Pac-12 conference mates. 

The Muss Bus will head north for a tilt with the Oregon Ducks (20-8, 9-8) on Saturday, before returning to L.A. for a final home game against Washington (13-15, 4-13) and a visit to rival UCLA (20-8, 11-6)]. The Trojans currently sit at 14-14; they’ll need to win two of those three games to walk away from a grueling regular season with a winning record.

“The only thing I know is just to get back in the gym and get ready for Oregon,” added Musselman.

The Trojans will face off against the Ducks in Eugene at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.