The 10th seeded USC Trojans had their opportunity to survive and advance against the Michigan State Spartans, but head coach Andy Enfield saw his team play too much 1-on-1 basketball in the second half as the Pac-12 representative suffered a 72-62 defeat in their first-round game of the NCAA tournament.

Enfield said his team had a successful season after finishing with a 22-11 record, but he thought his team missed an opportunity in the second half as a result of poor shooting.

“Unfortunately this game did not go as planned in the second half. There was a lot of timely shot making by Michigan State and some timely misses on our part. I thought that was the difference in the game, the second half. We also had eight second half turnovers and only three at halftime,” Andy Enfield said.

While USC was unable to find its rhythm in the second half, Michigan State (20-12) turned up the defensive pressure and played a physical game in the final 20 minutes to get the edge. The two teams were tied at 34-34 at halftime, but the Spartans had more intensity in the second half.

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said that slowing down USC guard Boogie Ellis was one of the keys to the game. Izzo labeled Ellis as one of the best guards in the country when interviewed on the national broadcast.

Ellis was held to 6 points on 3 of 12 shooting, and he put the Trojans' loss on himself.

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“They did a great job. I let my teammates down today. I didn't make shots. They made things tough for me. Their team defense was tough. I played too fast today. I didn't change my pace all year. That's on me.”

 

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