The USC and Nebraska men’s basketball teams are in dramatically different situations as the Big Ten Conference regular season nears its end.
The Trojans are on a four-game losing streak and potentially on the outside looking in when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. ESPN’s bracketology has them as a “first four out” team as of Friday morning, meaning they will be one of the four teams to just miss the cut for the tournament.
The No. 12 Cornhuskers (24-4, 13-4) are predicted to be a No. 3 seed and are one of the highest-scoring teams in the Big Ten Conference, outscoring Maryland 74-61 in their last game.
“We’re just worried about winning the game,” USC coach Eric Musselman told reporters. “That’s what we gotta worry about. How do we win the next game?”
The Trojans (18-10 overall, 7-10 Big Ten) suffered devastating blows to their tournament hopes with back-to-back losses to Oregon and UCLA. Their legs are buckling under the weight of point guard Rodney Rice’s injury and subsequent absence.
A lack of depth on offense hurt USC in its 81-62 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday. Chad Baker-Mazara was the leading contributor and scored 26 points despite dealing with apparent knee agitation that caused him to miss roughly five minutes of playing time.
Alijah Arenas was the Trojans’ second-leading scorer in the game with 10 points, but he also turned the ball over five times. Arenas, playing in just the 10th game of his college basketball career after missing most of the season due to injury, is averaging 13.9 points per game.
“When you haven’t played against a level of competition like UCLA,” Musselman said, “and like their defense and jumping in passing lanes and them focused on the ball and them swarming two guys – it’s a different level for any player that’s a freshman in (his 10th) game.”
Nebraska has experiences its own inconsistencies lately. Six players have dealt with an undisclosed illness and missed practice and playing time this month. Most recently, bench player Kendall Blue missed the Maryland game due to illness, while senior guard Jamarques Lawrence (10.3 ppg) rejoined the Huskers in that game and scored just three points while dishing out six assists.
After a program-best 20-0 start to the season, Nebraska has split its last eight games.
“We have three very important games left as we finish this off, and then hopefully two postseasons,” Cornhuskers head coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters after the Maryland win. “It’s an exciting time of year and the fact that we’re still playing for something very important is awesome and I’m proud of these guys. You can’t get satisfied, which they’re not.”
The Cornhuskers are going for their first NCAA Tournament win, as they hold an 0-8 record in March Madness. They’re outscoring opponents by an average of 13.1 points and are led by 6-foot-7 forward Pryce Sandfort’s 17.9 points per game.
Sandfort is also shooting 47.4% from the floor and 40.4% from long range.
NEBRASKA (24-4 overall, 13-4 Big Ten) at USC (18-10, 7-10)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: Galen Center
TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/710 AM
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