LA Sports Hub
Fansided

USC Basketball: Don’t expect any wins in the NCAA Tournament

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Andy Enfield of the USC Trojans yells from the bench during the game against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on February 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Andy Enfield of the USC Trojans yells from the bench during the game against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion on February 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The USC Basketball Trojans are putting together a good season and are tied for second in the Pac-12. However, the Trojans will still fail to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

The USC Basketball Trojans are again showing promising signs under head coach Andy Enfield. The Trojans are currently 19-9 with a 9-5 record in the PAC-12. This matches UCLA with the second-best record in the Pac-12 and is just one and a half games back of the leading Arizona Wildcats.

This is extremely promising for the Trojans as the Arizona Wildcats are the 14 ranked team in the nation. However, despite the small gap in the conference standings, the Trojans were handled easily by the Wildcats, 81-67, on February 10.

That does not take away from the great season the team is having and the great job that Enfield has done in restoring credibility to the USC basketball program. The Trojans are guaranteed an overall and conference record above .500, which would be the third straight season in which USC finishes .500 or above in both conference and overall play.

The last time that this was accomplished was from 2006 to 2009. In that stretch, the Trojans made the Sweet 16, lost in the round of 64 and advanced to the round of 32.

This season will most likely be the Trojans’ third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, matching the 2006 to 2009 streak. After losing in the opening round two years ago, the Trojans advanced to the round of 32 last season and came up just short with an 82-78 loss to Baylor.

That may be promising history for Trojans fans. We always see these incredible runs by smaller basketball schools that find them in the Elite Eight or even the Final Four. The Trojans, who are playing well, seemingly could piece together a run and go deep in the tourney.

More from LA Sports Hub

But they won’t, and fans of USC Basketball should not expect them to, either.

First and foremost, the loss of Bennie Boatwright is huge and should not be overlooked. Twist it in any way you’d like, Boatwright is second in the team in points, rebounds and assists. That is a huge loss let alone.

However, although the record is promising, USC has not shown up against high caliber teams. USC lost three consecutive games to UCLA, Arizona and Arizona State. They lost to Stanford and Washington as well.

The Trojans have beaten just two teams over .500 in the PAC-12; Utah and Oregon. The win over Utah was helped by 14 three-point shots and narrowly squeaked out a 72-70 win over 7-7 Oregon.

In their only other game against a ranked opponent, against Texas A&M (who isn’t even ranked anymore) the Trojans fell 75-59. How USC was ever ranked in the top ten beats me.

Next: Simulating Darnold on the Broncos

Unless the Trojans get a very favorable matchup in the NCAA Tournament, all signs are pointing to the Trojans getting bounced out of the first round.

Home/USC Trojans