The USC men’s basketball team is coming off a seven-day break to face No. 10 Illinois on Wednesday, and it will be doing so with six important regular-season games left.
The Illini are second in the Big Ten Conference and a virtual lock for the NCAA tournament, while bracket projections have USC standing on uncertain ground.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, as of Tuesday, has the Trojans (18-7 overall, 7-7 Big Ten) as an “on the bubble” team that could snag one of 10 projected Big Ten bids. Projections released by NCAA.com on Tuesday have USC listed as a No. 10 seed.
USC’s next two games against Illinois and Oregon (9-16, 2-12) – the latter of which is not expected to make the tournament – could carry significant weight.
The Trojans have completed their final cross-country road trip of the season, pulling out a 77-75 win over Penn State before a late comeback attempt faltered in an 89-82 loss to Ohio State. The weeklong break that followed was welcomed.
“It’s been a long year so far,” assistant coach Earl Boykins told reporters after playing Ohio State. “I think this is a much-needed break for the guys. The three long trips we’ve taken this year are a lot. It’s going to be good for them to get the break and for us to get in the gym and get back to the basics.”
The Trojans have recently been without Chad Baker-Mazara. The 6-foot-7 senior missed the last two games due to a knee strain and was listed as day-to-day. An extra week of recovery could result in a quick return for Baker-Mazara, who has complemented freshman Alijah Arenas well at wing.
Arenas has been a spark since his return from injury and, after a rocky first collegiate game, he’s bounced back to score at least 20 points in the last three games.
Illinois (21-5, 12-3) had a significant player return in Sunday’s win over Indiana. Senior guard Kylan Boswell, who is averaging 14 points on 47.1% shooting this season, came back after missing nearly a month’s worth of games due to a broken right hand.
“This last month I’ve been doing everything I can to get my hand healthy, be in the right mental state for when I get back on the court,” Boswell told reporters after the Indiana game.
“Still trying to get adjusted, especially with my dominant hand. Today I missed a couple of easy layups. Just try to get adjusted on it, but overall, it’s fine. If it’s not going offensively, I’ll just do my best to help with other things to help the team.”
Illinois has built a high-scoring offense – even without Boswell. The Illini are the second-highest scoring team in the conference at 84.2 points per game while outscoring opponents by 16 points a game. Conversely, USC’s last 10 games have been decided by 10 points or less.
Winning on the boards will be critical for the Trojans. Illinois pulls down 41.2 rebounds a game, but USC isn’t far behind at 37.3 a game.
Jacob Cofie, a 6-foot-10 forward, is the Trojans’ leading rebounder at 7.3 per game and 6-foot-9 forward David Mirkovic leads Illinois with 8.0 per game.
ILLINOIS (21-5 overall, 12-3 Big Ten) at USC (18-7, 7-7)
When: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Galen Center
TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/ESPN LA 710
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