USC Trojans Living On Top Of PAC-12
By Jamaal Artis
Don’t look now, but the early feel-good story of 2016 in the LA sports landscape just happens to be USC Trojans basketball.
Yes you read that right — the USC Trojans basketball team is in first place in the PAC-12 standings at 4-1 and they have a good overall record at 15-3; their best start in 20 years.
A successful road trip in Oregon this week will likely propel the Trojans into the conversation of an unlikely PAC-12 title.
This week the Trojans were propelled into the national top-25 rankings for the first time since Nov. 17, 2008. That season’s roster included future NBA players DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson and Nikola Vucevic.
The Trojans made the polls largely on the strength of strong early conference play.
The Trojans two biggest wins this season just happen to be their last two wins.
First, the Trojans defeated the Arizona Wildcats in a epic quadruple OT.
Hosting the then No. 7 Wildcats, the Trojans built a 12-point lead, but lost it when Arizona went on a 14-2 run to send the game to OT at 73-all on a last second layup.
Second OT came because again the Wildcats were able to tie the game on a last second shot. Third OT came courtesy of the Trojans this time as they made their free throws to at 86-all.
As if the Trojan fans hadn’t already seen enough, the Wildcats sent the game to a fourth OT when again they came up with a last second layup.
In the fourth extra session, the Trojans finally pulled a away and a last second Wildcat shot fell short propelling the Trojans to victory.
The game highlighted the Trojans balance on offense, as five players scored more than 15 points.
Where the Trojans especially excelled was in their guard play, as starters Julian Jacobs and Jordan Mclaughlin scored 18 and 17 points respectively, and guard Elijah Stewart scored the team-high 27 points coming off the bench including the game winning free throws in OT.
When the Trojans next took on their crosstown rival the UCLA Bruins, it was the play of freshman Chimezie Mutu who provided strong play in the post to combat Bruins power forward Tony Parker.
Despite the fact that Parker was able to finish with 27 points and 12 rebounds, Mutu provided a spark coming off the bench by scoring a career high of 21 points and collecting rebounds of his own.
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Mutu also helped neutralize the Bruin guards trying to penetrate to the basket, forcing them to make jump shots that didn’t fall.
While the Bruins only shot 21% from 3 point land the Trojans shot 45% including Jordan McLaughlin who hit 5-8 from deep.
The Trojans strong play turned the crosstown rivalry game into a convincing win by a final 14 point margin at 89-75.
If the Trojans continue to play this strong they could be among the PAC-12 leaders at the end of the year and guarantee a trip for coach Andy Enfield back to the big dance in March.
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It’s early, and a lot can still happen, but the Trojans remain a team to be reckoned with.