LOS ANGELES — At the sound of the final buzzer of Wednesday night’s game, the USC men’s basketball players embraced as they walked off the court, breathing a sigh of relief with a weight lifted off their shoulders – one step closer to sneaking into postseason play.
Once a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble, the Trojans have fallen hard of late, with a five-game losing streak leaving them in jeopardy of missing the Big Ten Tournament altogether.
But USC (15-15 overall, 7-12 Big Ten) strengthened its chances to secure one of the final spots in the 15-team conference tournament by drubbing last-place Washington, 92-61.
Already rolling with 8:40 left in the game, graduate transfer Chibuzo Agbo – playing his final game at Galen Center – caught the ball at the top of the arc, squared up and drilled a 3-pointer that extended the lead to 20 points and seemed to extinguish any hopes the Huskies had of staging a comeback.
Agbo led all scorers with a season-high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with six rebounds, while Desmond Claude had 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting and 11 assists. Rashaun Agee added 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting (4 for 5 from 3-point range) and five rebounds for the Trojans, who shot 56.4% overall and a sizzling 15 for 26 from 3-point range.
Despite being at the bottom of the standings, the Huskies (13-17, 4-15) didn’t make it easy for the Trojans. They played as if they were fighting for a tournament spot, seemingly trying to play the role of late-season spoiler.
From the start, the Trojans faced tough, physical play, getting knocked down often. But they fought for second-chance points, battled for the rebound advantage, and drove to the basket, drawing hard fouls and converting and-one plays.
The Trojans showed they wanted the victory more because they needed it more.
Agee went toe-to-toe with the Huskies physically, establishing himself as a dominant presence in the post on both ends of the court. Early on, he attacked Washington’s defenders with aggressive drives, initiating contact and finishing strong, flexing his 6-foot-8 frame.
He was relentless on the boards, soaring for rebounds and ripping the ball away from defenders. His intensity hit another level when he let out a roar after securing a tough board, then stepped back in transition to drain a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
On the next possession, he found himself in the same spot and buried another, pointing to the crowd in celebration.
By halftime, Agbo, Claude and Agee were in double figures. They held a 12-point lead and all the momentum on their side, setting up a convincing finish.
Claude, who has struggled with turnovers at times this season, had just two on a night when USC had 24 assists on its 31 field goals.
With the win, the Trojans are in a favorable position heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at UCLA.
USC is among five teams tied at 7-12 in conference play, but the Trojans just need to finish tied with or ahead of Iowa (15-14, 6-12) to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. All the pressure is on the Hawkeyes, who face a must-win situation against No. 5 Michigan State on Thursday (before a season finale on Sunday at Nebraska). A victory by the first-place Spartans would guarantee USC a trip to Indianapolis, no matter how the Trojans do against UCLA, though seeding won’t be settled until the weekend.
More to come on this story.