Eric Musselman Running Out Of Excuses After Usc's Latest Blowout Loss To Ucla

Eric Musselman sat down a microphone astatine nan bitter extremity of a bitter regular play for USC, equipped only pinch nan aforesaid explanations for really a once-hopeful play could travel truthful undone.

There were unfortunate injuries to constituent to, he said, and continuity issues to contend with. Then location was nan pesky problem of Big Ten travel. And astatine home, good ... “Our location tribunal has not been overmuch of a home-court advantage,” Musselman said, aft UCLA chants rang retired done Galen Center each night.

But nary of that rationale, arsenic existent aliases convenient arsenic it mightiness sound, could adequately explicate really nan Trojans ended up present astatine their season’s nadir, pinch 7 consecutive losses heading into nan Big Ten tournament, nan latest an 89-68 rout astatine nan hands of their crosstown rival.

The seventh of those losses looked strikingly akin to nan different six. Once again, USC’s defense collapsed successful nan 2nd half, arsenic UCLA changeable amended than 60%. And erstwhile again, nan Trojans’ streaky shooting and deficiency of beingness connected nan solid made it intolerable for them to support up.

“Obviously our struggling down nan agelong has not been characteristic of our past programs,” Musselman said. “It’s really been nan nonstop opposite.”

Yet astatine USC, it’s each we’ve seen done 2 seasons pinch Musselman astatine nan helm. The Trojans mislaid 8 of 10 to decorativeness retired nan regular play a twelvemonth ago, and astatine nan time, nan coach besides blamed injuries to their apical 2 guards, Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates, for nan collapse.

USC defender Alijah Arenas, right, drives past UCLA defender Skyy Clark during nan Trojans’ nonaccomplishment Saturday nighttime astatine Galen Center.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Injuries proved moreover much devastating this season. USC was without five-star freshman Alijah Arenas until precocious January and mislaid Rodney Rice, its starting constituent guard, to an wounded successful November. He referred to his Trojans arsenic “the astir injured squad successful assemblage basketball.”

“It’s not an excuse,” Musselman said. “It’s a fact.”

But location were inexcusable losses on nan way, losses that didn’t hinge connected 1 player’s absence — and might’ve singlehandedly changed nan speech complete USC’s season. Among them: A second-half collapse astatine location to Washington, a blown lead successful nan final infinitesimal to Oregon and an unraveling astatine nan hands of Northwestern, who was winless successful convention astatine nan time.

Even still, nan Trojans mightiness person salvaged their tourney hopes if they recovered thing down nan stretch. Instead, nan team’s apical scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, was dismissed past weekend. Musselman wouldn’t connection immoderate further remark connected that decision. But by Saturday night, USC looked arsenic mislaid arsenic ever.

“We conscionable person to enactment together,” said elder Terrance Williams. “I consciousness for illustration erstwhile adversity hits, sometimes we thin to spell our abstracted ways. We’ve sewage to conscionable instrumentality together, man.”

It looked, for a little time, for illustration USC mightiness negociate that against UCLA. Even arsenic busloads of Bruins fans descended connected Galen Center, turning USC’s arena into dispute territory, nan Trojans showed signs of life early on. Midway done nan first half, nan Trojans had played their crosstown rivals to a tie, 21-21.

Any dream stitched together during that agelong came isolated conscionable a fewer minutes later, though. USC deed conscionable 4 shots nan remainder of nan half, while UCLA deed 10 of 12 astatine 1 point. For nan last 4:40 earlier halftime, nan Trojans didn’t propulsion down a azygous rebound.

Arenas would do his champion to resistance USC backmost from nan brink. He scored 13 successful nan 2nd half and 20 overall. During 1 spurt, nan freshman put up 8 points successful little than 4 minutes, cutting UCLA’s lead to 11.

But nan spark was brief. The Bruins came firing back, led by Dent, who fundamentally took a blowtorch to nan Trojans’ protect plans. After scoring a season-high 30 points against USC successful their past meeting, Dent dropped 25 successful nan rematch.

“We had a problem staying successful beforehand of Dent,” said guardant Jacob Cofie. “Eleven for 15, that’s unacceptable.”

That was conscionable nan commencement of USC’s issues. But arsenic its play continues to descend further into disaster, Musselman assured that things were still moving successful nan correct guidance up of Wednesday’s crippled against Washington successful nan convention tournament.

“We consciousness this is an NCAA tourney squad if we were healthy,” Musselman said. “We person nary uncertainty that it was — aliases would be.”

Except now, we’ll ne'er cognize for sure. And aft a seventh-straight nonaccomplishment and a 2nd consecutive play near spiraling, hypotheticals could only transportation USC and its coach truthful far.