From his first day of practice at USC, Eric Musselman was honest about the most glaring hole on his rapidly rebuilt roster. Bigs would be in desperately short supply during USC’s first season in the Big Ten, a conference known for its size and strength down low. And with only two players taller than 6-7 on the roster, Musselman knew the Trojans would have a tough time matching up with any team that towered over them.
Enter Michigan, a team built around two 7-footers capable of running the pick-and-roll and stretching the floor, a veritable nightmare for a roster totally replete of rim-protecting big men. To prepare, USC did what it could in practice the past week, replicating the Wolverines’ unusual sets over and over, even plugging in grad assistant — and former Irvine sixth man — Elston Jones to help simulate Michigan’s size. But Jones was merely 6-9. Josh Cohen, the tallest Trojan on the roster, was only 6-10.
“We tried as best we could, putting the tallest guys we had in their position,” guard Wesley Yates said.
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That effort was apparent Saturday night, as USC clawed its way back once, then again, then again, its small-ball lineup clinging on for dear life while Michigan and its supersized bigs bludgeoned the paint late. It ultimately wasn’t enough, as USC faded late, falling 85-74 to Michigan.
The tide turned for good with a little more than three minutes remaining, as Desmond Claude, the conductor of the Trojans offense, fouled out with USC trailing by two.
Claude had spent much of the second half dragging USC (9-5, 1-2 Big Ten) back from the depths as he often has, driving fearlessly into the paint in spite of Michigan’s twin towers. He scored 11 after halftime, leading USC back from a 15-point deficit to tie Michigan with just over seven minutes remaining.
Claude also turned the ball over four times in the second half, including twice inexplicably on inbounds plays, which left Musselman wondering if he could trust his point guard on such passes again.
Still, they’d withstood Michigan’s redoubled efforts in the paint after halftime, as the Wolverines scored 32 second-half points inside the arc. They’d shut down Michigan (11-3, 3-0) from deep, holding them to zero three-pointers after a first half that saw them hit one after another — 10 in all.
USC even held Vladislav Goldin, Michigan’s 7-foot leading scorer, to just 11 points and a season-low three rebounds, holding true to its preparation from the previous week.
Michigan’s more versatile 7-footer, Danny Wolf, dominated the Trojans in every facet, scoring 21, pulling down 13 rebounds and dishing out seven assists.
Still, as Claude hit a free throw with 3:23 remaining, the Trojans were well within reach, trailing only by two points. Then, Claude was called for a foul — the 13th of 15 such fouls called on the Trojans in the second half, a total that Musselman found especially frustrating.
“As soon as we caught up,” Musselman said, “they started going to the foul line at an alarming rate.”
This particular foul, though, proved costly as Claude fouled out, leaving USC without its floor general down the final stretch.
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And with Claude out of the game, any hope of navigating around Michigan’s supersized frontcourt faded. The Wolverines immediately went on a 12-0 run, burying the Trojans in a matter of minutes.
Yates did what he could, assuming the lead from there. But after putting on a show early, hitting each of his first seven shots, the redshirt freshman missed five in a row in the final minutes. He finished tied with Claude for the team lead with 19, but afterward lamented his lack of maturity and focus down the stretch.
“I just use it as fuel, just to keep going,” Yates said. “We had spurts in the game where we showed we were right in it. We could’ve easily won.”
But Saturday marked another matchup in which USC folded in the final minutes, a problem that persisted in other close losses to Oregon and California. It won’t get any easier from here, with three road matchups in its next five games at the start of a brutal Big Ten slate.
“We’re 0-2 at home [in the Big Ten], and this is a league that dominates at home,” Musselman said. “You look at the record for our next three road games, and there’s like two losses [between them]. We’ve got an uphill battle in this league, just based on home-court advantage. There’s zero doubt about that.”
They’ll embark on that stretch without two of its top six contributors expected to return any time soon. Musselman said Saturday night that forwards Terrance Williams and Matt Knowling, both of whom have been injured, don’t have timelines for their return.
Both were expected to help mitigate the Trojans’ shortage of big men. But on Saturday, in spite of their many efforts to climb back, USC’s shortcomings proved too large to overcome.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
