The USC basketball team had a great chance to win a third straight game on Wednesday and pick up some momentum, but they dropped a disappointing home loss against Washington State basketball. The Trojans were favored in this one and they got off to a good start, but at the end of the game, the Cougars were the team that made the winning plays, and they came out on top with a 72-64 win. USC is now 8-8 on the season overall and 2-3 in Pac-12 play. Not a lot of people expected the Trojans to struggle like this.
One issue that USC basketball has had this season is their defense, and it was an issue down the stretch. Washington State found ways to score, and the Trojans didn't. Because of that, the Cougars got the win, and Boogie Ellis knows that his team has to be better in that regard.
“We've been pretty bad defensively this year,” Boogie Ellis said after the game, according to an article from ESPN.
It certainly did help that USC was without Ellis at practice all week. The Trojans star injured his hamstring recently, and he was apparently only at about 60% for this game. He was still able to have a good game as he dropped 18 points and grabbed five rebounds, but having him at 100% will be crucial for USC going forward. Head coach Andy Enfield doesn't want to make excuses, but that injury is certainly noteworthy.
“Boogie hasn't practiced all week,” Enfield said. “It doesn't excuse our missed free throws, open shots or some of the mistakes we made.”
That is a good point from Andy Enfield. It was unfortunate that Ellis, one of their best players, wasn't fully healthy, but that's not why USC lost the basketball game. They simply didn't play well enough to win, and they have a lot to clean up if they are going to turn this season around, and they have to do it quickly.
“At the end of the day, nobody feels sorry for us,” Ellis said. “We just gotta go keep working, keep pushing.”
USC basketball is back in action on Saturday night as they hit the road to take on Colorado. That will be another tough game for the Trojans.
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