Sweet 16: USC falls just short, Baylor moves on

Despite failing to make this year’s Sweet 16, the Trojans played a far from failure type of season.

There’s a lot to be proud of on the Trojans’ end of things, even though it ended up in heartbreak. Baylor was just too much for USC, and it showed in the final tally.

USC lost in the Round of 32 on Sunday night to the Bears, 82-78. Chimezie Metu led the team in scoring, dropping 28 points on the night and not holding back.

Also, Bennie Boatwright had himself a game with 16 of his own.

For the Trojans, it was a tough way for 2017 to end. Success in the regular season as well as having top dog UCLA’s number — especially in the PAC-12 tournament — spoke for itself. After the team was able to get by Providence, anything felt possible.

SMU was not an easy opponent to start the tournament, but that didn’t stop them. It speaks to the character of the basketball team and exhibits their drive to win.

Johnathan Motley led the Bears’ starters in scoring with 19 points. Off the bench, Baylor also got a big game from Terry Maston, who put down 19 as well.

Following the USC-Baylor contest, South Carolina managed to be the team that pulled the upset off. The Blue Devils of Duke met their match, falling 88-81 as March’s latest victim.

Baylor will now try and go toe to toe with the Gamecocks for a chance at the Elite Eight.

There’s more than enough for USC to build off of, even though next year is still a ways away. It’s never to early to think about the future, even if it’s small thoughts.

And that’s exactly what the Trojans need to do if they want to contend in future tournaments. This year did what they needed it to do.

Next: Who's Next To Be Dealt From Young Core?

It got everyone talking.