Categoria: NCAA Tournament

COLUMBUS — Perhaps this was the way it was always meant to end. A USC men’s basketball team whose offense had a penchant for disappearing for vast stretches of games, vanishing at the worst possible moment.

It’s something USC could get away with at times over the course of the season, but not Friday, as the 10th-seeded Trojans fell to seventh-seeded Michigan State 72-62 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

USC shot 11 for 32 from the floor in the second half. Eleven turnovers – eight in the second half – generated 16 Michigan State points. Leading scorers Boogie Ellis and Drew Peterson combined to shoot 7 for 22 from the floor.

“This game did not go as planned in the second half,” Trojans head coach Andy Enfield said. “A lot of timely shot-making by Michigan State and some timely misses on our part.”

And somehow worse, with USC down nine with two minutes left, after Michigan State missed three consecutive front ends of one-and-one free throws, the Trojans (22-11) missed two jumpers and turned the ball over, netting zero points, as the opportunity for a comeback slipped away.

“When you’re trailing and you’re trying to figure it out and gauge trying to get 3s versus easier twos, it’s just something that’s part of the game,” Peterson said. “We tried to find the best shot possible.”

Not to say USC’s offensive woes began in the second half.

The Trojans quickly fell behind by 11, in part due to allowing Michigan State (20-12) to make 10 of 18 attempts with open looks. But the bigger problem for USC was its own shot selection.

USC missed nine of its first 12 attempts and 12 of its first 15 shots were jumpers. The Trojans were settling for long looks, including one 30-foot Ellis 3-pointer that left Enfield flabbergasted.

After averaging 25.8 points across the last six games of the regular season, Ellis never got comfortable against Michigan State. He was held to six points, his lowest point total since Dec. 7. And his five assists were offset by three turnovers.

“I let my teammates down today,” Ellis said. “I didn’t change my pace all year. I play with a great pace. But today I played a little bit too fast. So that’s on me.”

But USC found an unlikely first-half hero, as is so often the case in March.

Michigan State opted not to defend center Joshua Morgan when USC drove to the rim, instead deploying his man to double-team the ball handler. So USC started feeding Morgan. The center made a jumper and three layups, and USC was within three.

When Morgan returned to the bench during the ensuing MSU timeout, he could hardly stand up straight he was so out of breath. But that didn’t stop assistant coach Eric Mobley and freshman Vincent Iwuchukwu from mobbing him.

After the break, Ellis hit a floater – his first basket of the game, 17 minutes in – and Kijani Wright sank a free throw to tie it, and that’s how the Trojans and Spartans would enter halftime.

But USC again could not find enough energy to start the second half. The Trojans opened 2 for 8 from the field, while Michigan State made 7 of 11. USC went scoreless for three minutes while Tyson Walker, moments after injuring his elbow on an Ellis charge, found Joey Hauser for a 3, then drove in for a second-chance layup.

When Carson Cooper put back a miss for a two-handed dunk, Enfield called timeout with USC trailing 49-40.

A driving, one-handed dunk from Johnson stopped the bleeding, then a dump down from Dixon-Waters to an open Morgan for a dunk got USC within five again.

But USC suffered another scoring drought, this one four minutes long. USC missed five consecutive shots and turned the ball over three times, including a pass from Morgan out to the perimeter that A.J. Hoggard intercepted and took the distance for a layup.

So when USC fell behind by 15 as Michigan State hit back-to-back corner 3s, Jaden Akins bouncing up the court in celebration after the second. The large Spartan contingent at Nationwide Arena jumped about, too, sensing the win in hand.

Even when Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get within nine, Michigan State was able to survive not by hitting free throws but by grabbing the rebounds of USC’s repeated misses.

Unfortunately for USC, cold spells on offense were not an uncommon occurrence in losses this year. Asked if he needed to do a philosophical reevaluation of the USC offense this offseason, Enfield put the onus on his players.

“The scoring droughts are usually either you miss open shots or guys try to do too much on their own, one-on-one, instead of just moving the ball and spacing and cutting,” he said. “It is frustrating at times throughout the season. But for the most part our guys played the right way.”

But not enough to move on this March.

COLUMBUS — USC’s last two playoff games have followed a similar pattern.

Last week in the Trojans’ Pac-12 tournament opener, USC fell behind Arizona State 8-0 and was never able to dig out of that hole.

Last year in the NCAA tournament, Miami jumped out to an 11-point lead as USC didn’t score its 20th point until there was 1:03 left in the first half. Despite Drew Peterson’s last-minute heroics, the Trojans could not weather the Hurricanes.

So as 10th-seeded USC prepares for this year’s NCAA tournament opener against seventh-seeded Michigan State on Friday at Nationwide Arena, the Trojans want to avoid a similar slow start that dooms their March dreams.

“As I told our players, this is what you play for. This is what you dream about as a young player growing up,” USC head coach Andy Enfield said. “You’re on the biggest stage and competing for a national championship. So they better be ready. I’m sure they will.”

This season has been one of exceeding expectations for these Trojans (22-10). Opening the season with a Quadrant IV loss to Florida Gulf Coast seemed to portend a rebuilding year, with Drew Peterson and Boogie Ellis the only returning starters and many freshmen and sophomores around them.

But USC won 11 of its next 12 games and built a résumé of wins over tournament teams Vermont, Auburn, UCLA and Arizona State. The Trojans played their typical brand of defense, Ellis blossomed as a playmaker and young wings Kobe Johnson, Reese Dixon-Waters and Tre White grew into their roles.

It was enough for the Trojans to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, their third consecutive appearance. Standing in the way – the Spartans (19-12).

This isn’t your typical Tom Izzo-coached team. Only a plus-three average rebounding margin, allowing opponents to shoot 45.0% from the floor. Only one real big man, Joey Hauser, who is a threat to score in the paint.

Instead, Michigan State has relied on guard play and 3-point shooting this season, reminding Ellis of Arizona State.

“Tyson Walker is an elite scorer. He can shoot it with range. Very quick,” Enfield said. “He’s one of their leaders. But they have a lot of other good players that complement what he does.”

The Spartans’ reliance on guards will play into undersized USC’s favor. The Trojans have typically played with one big on the court this season, with defensive stalwart Joshua Morgan starting and being relieved by Kijani Wright or Vincent Iwuchukwu.

Iwuchukwu has missed USC’s past two games with a back injury. Enfield described the freshman 7-footer’s condition as day to day Thursday. But during the Trojans’ public shootaround at Nationwide Arena, Iwuchukwu did not participate and instead watched from the sidelines in plaid USC pajama pants.

USC won’t have much to time to change out of its PJs on Friday. The Trojans’ tournament opener tips off just after noon in Ohio, or 9:15 a.m. in Los Angeles.

It’s a change of pace for USC after so many 8 p.m. starts this year, and another factor the Trojans will need to combat as they try to avoid another slow March start. But USC flew to Columbus on Tuesday to adjust to the new time zone and ensure it is ready for Friday.

“We knew it’s all about preparation going into a game like this. We’re prepared, getting good sleep, all that stuff,” Peterson said. “I think we’re the first game on Friday, so excited to be able to get that showcase slot.”

No. 10 USC vs. No. 7 Michigan State What: NCAA tournament first round

When: 9:15 a.m. Friday

Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus Arena

TV: CBS