LOS ANGELES -- A tale of two halves was on full display Saturday evening at the Galen Center as the undefeated USC Trojans Men's Basketball team found themselves up by 18 at halftime against the Washington Huskies, but were unable to close it out as the Trojans would drop their Big Ten home opener, thus spoiling their perfect season by a final score of 84-76.
The Trojans had themselves a different lineup heading into this blackout game against the Huskies, as USC was entering this game without Rodney Rice, Alijah Arenas, and newly dismissed Amarion Dickerson, who is slated to be out three to four months, Head Coach Eric Musselman announced Saturday morning, just a few hours ahead of game time. Coach Musselman compromised a solution by starting Jerry Easter II, Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara, Terrance Williams II, and Jacob Cofie.
"With no Rice, Arenas, and Dickerson, you gotta play like an A game, meaning that the guys are available, and we didn't have enough guys have good games tonight," coach Musselman said, regarding how much the absence of three pivotal Trojans players added to the lack of margin for error USC had to overcome.
USC had itself a productive first half against the Huskies, as Baker-Mazara led the Trojans with 14 first-half points on 4-7 shooting and 3 rebounds. Offensively, Baker-Mazara had his name written all over the court, but his presence on defense was just as persistent and, ultimately, led to the Trojans manufacturing a 13-0 run and the 48-30 lead heading into halftime.
The Huskies started the second half aggressively, initiating a 13-0 run that narrowed USC's lead to 48-40. This early burst foreshadowed what was to come, as the Huskies shot 56% from the floor in the second half while the Trojans struggled with just 25%.
"I thought our locker room took a deep breath like they had accomplished something at halftime, but we hadn't," coach Musselman said on the apparent complacency that the Trojans had going and coming out of halftime.
Junior guard Jordan Marsh did not mince words about the lack of awareness he and his team had about ending the game.
"We just got too comfortable. Plain and simple," Marsh said.
A truly frustrating and discombobulated game that slipped away from the Trojans and an outright embarrassing way to open up Big Ten play at home. Despite the tough pill to swallow, the Trojans will have a couple of weeks to regroup as their next Big Ten opponent, the No.3 Michigan Wolverines, will be awaiting them in Ann Arbor on January 3.