Frustrating Usc Men's Basketball Season Ends With Overtime Loss In Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO — It only felt for illustration USC’s play was complete aft Saturday’s thumping astatine nan hands of UCLA, fto unsocial everything other that’s gone incorrect complete nan past month. Tuesday’s second-half illness successful a 83-79 overtime nonaccomplishment to Washington successful nan Big Ten tourney conscionable made it official.

The Trojans had nary shortage of chances to fend disconnected nan end. They had a 13-point lead successful nan 2nd half. They had nan shot astatine nan extremity of regulation. And they had a chance to triumph it successful overtime and different chance to necktie it.

They missed each 3 pivotal shots — nan first 2 by Kam Woods, nan past by Jordan Marsh — to reason a 2nd consecutive disappointing play pinch an eighth consecutive loss.

The 12th-seeded Huskies (16-16) hit nan Trojans for nan 3rd clip this play to headdress a chaotic 10 days that saw starring scorer Chad Baker-Mazara dismissed from nan team, a brace of 19-point losses to nan Bruins and different precocious slice against Washington successful Seattle.

Woods scored 24 points, Jacob Cofie 14, Marsh 13 and Ryan Cornish 10 for 13th-seeded USC (18-14). Alijah Arenas, who led nan Trojans successful scoring successful some games without Baker-Mazara, was held to six points connected 3-for-10 shooting and sat retired nan last six minutes of regularisation and each but 8 seconds of overtime.

Winners of nan Maui Invitational, USC was 18-6 and supra .500 successful nan Big Ten successful aft a Feb. 8 triumph astatine Penn State, solidly successful contention
for an NCAA tourney bid. But aft Arenas missed nan first half of nan season, nan Trojans lost Rodney Rice and Amarion Dickerson to
injuries, and nan spiral was good nether measurement erstwhile Baker-Mazara was dismissed.

Tuesday’s nonaccomplishment only compounded nan misery of a 2nd consecutive frustrating season, successful each excessively acquainted fashion.