USC basketball finds itself imploding at the wrong time ahead of March Madness. Once 18-6, the Trojans have lost five straight. And now have lost Chad Baker-Mazara following his sudden departure on Sunday.
Barring a sudden surge, the Trojans are no longer a lock to make the NCAA Tournament. They'll need lots of external factors to come into play to seal a spot.
How did everything unravel so fast in the Land of Troy after such a hot start?
Head coach Eric Musselman got USC firing on all cylinders early — starting the season 12-1. Michigan's 96-66 beatdown back on Jan. 2 sparked the downturn, though. Their lopsided loss on Feb. 19 against Illinois further pressed the panic button. Time to closely examine USC's remaining odds to be selected on March 15.
USC's current March Madness odds
The bubble teams have altered USC's hopes of squeaking in.
ESPN's Joe Lurnardi handed the Trojans one of the “next four out” labels after falling to Nebraska. Five different teams that were on the bubble rated ahead of USC.
One happens to be in the Big Ten just like USC. Ohio State remains very well in the hunt thanks to the Cornhuskers' rout of the Trojans Saturday. OSU raised its chances higher by stunning No. 8 Purdue Sunday.
Indiana is another breathing down USC's next — owning a 17-12 record but 8-10 in conference play (one game better than USC).
Even West Coast Conference representative Santa Clara is making its push for a bid. The Broncos are 24-7 overall but 15-3 in WCC play — including owning a previous win over conference leader St. Mary's.
Worse for USC is its Quad 1 record, often a big deciding factor in a team's March resume. The Trojans own a dismal 2-8 record there — helping drop their overall mark to No. 63. But USC isn't anywhere near the top 68 on the website Team Rankings, further damaging their chances.
Path to the Big Dance
It's simple for Musselman and company: Simply win out at this point.
That includes taking the long way in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. And USC likely will land a low seed at the United Center in Chicago.
The last five games became brutal for the Trojans. While Nebraska was highly ranked at No. 12, the three other losses to Ohio State, Oregon and rival UCLA proved to be more devastating…as all three are unranked teams. USC even struggled against Penn State back on Feb. 8 before the losing streak came to be.
Winning two tournament games doesn't guarantee that the Trojans will make it in. Even closing the regular season with victories against Washington and UCLA won't lock a spot up.
The Feb. 3 win over Indiana now represents the last quality win USC has. Trojan fans must hope USC catches sudden fire and wins the tournament. But the NIT is likely envisioning plugging the Trojans in one of its brackets after Selection Sunday.
