The USC Troians missed yet another chance to win three games in a row this season, as they fell prey to the Washington State Cougars at home on Wednesday, 72-64. It was the third time USC basketball failed to extend a win streak to three games, leaving them crawling back to square one. As for USC freshman Bronny James, it was also another mediocre night for him.
Bronny James silent once again
After back-to-back games of double-digit performances against the Oregon State Beavers and the California Golden Bears, Bronny James' has apparently cooled down. He only had two points in last Saturday's 93-79 win over the Stanford Cardinal before laying an egg during the 15 minutes he had on the floor versus the Cougars. With zero points and a turnover, it was just not a game to remember for James and his fans.
It is also not a good look on him that he was the only Trojans player who failed to register at least a single point. However, it was truly a miserable night for the entire USC basketball squad in that contest, with the Trojans ending up with just a 37.9 percent shooting from the field.
As cliched as it sounds, though, he can use that letdown performance to fuel his motivation in the coming games. At some point, he will be able to break out of his shooting struggles and put together a brilliant offensive performance.
One of the takeaways from Bronny James' performance in the Stanford game was that he could have been more aggressive, as he took all but one of his four attempts from the field from behind the arc. But instead of an increased effort to look for his shots against Washington State, the first-year guard took fewer shots, going 0-for-3 (0-for-1 from deep). Somehow, he finished with an even worse offensive rating on a lower usage rate in the Washington State game than the ones he had in the meeting with Stanford. Bronny James had a season-low 13.3 offensive rating with a 13.9 percent usage rate. In addition, James' box plus-minus of minus-15.2 was the worst he's had so far in his time in college.
Andy Enfield still believes in Bronny James amid slump
James has not drained a field goal in two consecutive games now. He is 0-for-7 combined in those contests, and some may be worried about whether he could end his shooting malaise sooner than later. Trojans head coach doesn't seem to be going to lose sleep over it, as he seemingly still has all the confidence and trust in the world in Bronny.
“All players go through stretches where they make and miss shots, ” Enfield said of James during the postgame press conference (h/t Luca Evans of the O.C. Register).” You can affect winning without scoring the ball, and all our guys and Bronny in particular, he’s capable of doing that.”
What's ahead of Bronny James and USC basketball?
The Trojans, who dropped to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in conference play, will look to turn things around right away this coming Sunday when they travel to Boulder to face the Colorado Buffaloes at CU Events Center . A big test awaits James and USC basketball after that date with Colorado, as the Trojans head to Tucson for a matchup against a top 25 team in the form of the Arizona Wildcats.
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