Entering the new year, USC men’s basketball was on a roll. The Trojans had just capped an undefeated nonconference slate with a 102-63 rout of UC Santa Cruz — earning them a No. 24 ranking on the Associated Press’ poll — and seemed poised to make a statement during an upcoming road trip against Big Ten powerhouses No. 4 Michigan and No. 12 Michigan State.

That road trip, however, was nothing short of a disaster. After suffering a 30-point beatdown at the hands of the then-undefeated Wolverines (14-1, 4-1 Big Ten), USC (14-3, 3-3) faced a similar fate against the Spartans (15-2, 5-1), losing 80-51 to fall to 1-3 in conference play. The Trojans’ only saving grace from the trip — a 70-69 win against Minnesota (10-7, 3-3) — took a down-to-the-wire effort in overtime after they blew a 13-point lead in the second half.

As Head Coach Eric Musselman and company return to Los Angeles for a three-game homestand, they find themselves in desperate need of a reset. USC’s upcoming matchups will show how this year’s squad responds to its first taste of adversity — and likely determine whether or not it will improve upon last season’s 14th-place finish in the Big Ten.

Injuries allow new players to shine

The Trojans’ slow start to conference play comes in the midst of injuries to several key players. Junior guard Rodney Rice, who recorded the second triple-double in USC history against Illinois State University (12-5, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference), will officially miss the rest of the season after suffering a shoulder injury Nov. 25 against Seton Hall (14-3, 4-2 Big East). Rice led the Trojans with 20.3 points and six assists per game before his injury.

USC is also lacking sixth-man senior guard Amarion Dickerson, who has been out with a hip injury since early December and will likely miss all or most of the season. Five-star freshman guard Alijah Arenas has yet to suit up for the Trojans while recovering from a July knee injury; while Musselman said in a postgame news conference Friday that he may be available to play “in the next couple games,” Arenas is already ruled out for USC’s next two home games, a source familiar with the situation told the Los Angeles Times.

In the absence of Rice and Dickerson, Musselman has rotated between several options for filling out the starting lineup, including graduate guard Ryan Cornish and junior center Gabe Dynes. 

Cornish broke out in USC’s win over the University of Texas at San Antonio (4-12, 0-4 American) on Dec. 17, racking up 18 points with a team-high four 3-pointers, though he has seen inconsistent playing time in the five games since.

Dynes has emerged as a consistent presence on the court, highlighted by a 16-point performance against UC Santa Cruz and a career-high 37 minutes in the win over Minnesota. The 7-foot-5 center is a force in the paint, boasting an 83.3% field-goal percentage, and is averaging two blocks per game over the Trojans’ last five contests.

Musselman also made a rare midseason addition in December, bringing in graduate guard Kam Woods, a transfer from Robert Morris University. Woods has struggled to score, shooting just 4-for-28 across his first four games, but is averaging nearly four rebounds, three assists and two steals per game.

Ranked opponents present crucial opportunities

If the Trojans want to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive — ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projects them as a No. 10 seed in March, putting them dangerously close to the bubble — they could use a few high-quality wins on their resume. 

USC faced one of the weaker nonconference schedules nationally, with its best win to date coming against newly-ranked Seton Hall in the Southwest Maui Invitational, and looked completely outmatched against its first taste of top-tier competition in losses to Michigan and Michigan State.

A crucial opportunity presents itself in the form of Saturday’s matchup with No. 5 Purdue (15-1, 5-0 Big Ten), likely the most difficult opponent remaining on the Trojans’ regular-season slate. A victory over one of the Big Ten’s elite squads would represent a major boost to USC’s resume, while a loss would drop the Trojans to 0-3 against ranked competition.

To come out of Galen Center with a win, however, USC needs to clean up its game. The Trojans rank near the middle of the Big Ten in most offensive and defensive stats but commit the most turnovers and personal fouls per game in the conference, exhibiting their aggressive — if not sloppy — playstyle.

Defensively, Musselman’s squad has allowed the second-most points per game in the Big Ten at 76.2. A scoring-first mindset may have worked in nonconference play, but USC cannot afford to let up on defense in matchups with some of the best offenses the game has to offer.

After the Boilermakers, the Trojans have two more games scheduled against currently ranked teams, including No. 13 Illinois (13-3, 4-1) and No. 8 Nebraska (17-0, 6-0). They will also meet with crosstown rival UCLA (11-5, 3-2) twice in their last four games. Although the Bruins took home both of last season’s matchups, this season’s UCLA squad has also fared poorly against top competition, with a 1-5 record against Quadrant 1 and 2 teams.

USC’s season is far from over; despite a rough road trip, the Trojans are still 14-3 and boast one of the most dynamic scoring duos in the Big Ten with graduate guard Chad Baker-Mazara and senior forward Ezra Ausar. However, they certainly can’t afford to take many more 30-point losses — even if they come against ranked teams — and need to turn their trajectory around soon if they want to remain in contention for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid come March.

That pursuit continues at Galen Center on Saturday at 3 p.m., as USC looks to add a statement win to its resume against title-contending Purdue.