USC gives Oregon scare before collapsing in Big Ten debut loss

Little about the first month of his first season at USC had gone as Eric Musselman hoped. His USC offense had struggled to score. His defense struggled to get stops. And on the glass, only a few of college basketball’s 355 teams had been worse than the Trojans, who struggled with dispatching the likes of Grambling and Texas Arlington.

But after stumbling its way through the first eight games of the Muss era, here was a chance, in its Big Ten debut, for USC to stem the tide of those early-season struggles.

Until late Wednesday, the Trojans seemed well on their way to seizing that opportunity against Oregon, which sat atop the conference after a spotless 8-0 start. Then, in the final minutes, everything unraveled for USC in a 68-60 loss to No. 12 Oregon.

A defense that, for most of the game, appeared transformed from its early-season iteration was rolled over in the final minutes. Three different Ducks hit three-pointers in a stretch of a few possessions. One USC turnover turned into another … and another.

In a matter of five minutes, Oregon had turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead. And the Ducks didn’t look back.

It was an especially disappointing finish given how impressive USC (5-4) had looked out of the gate. The Trojans looked like a totally different team during their Big Ten debut, clamping down on defense and outmuscling Oregon on the boards.

USC forward Terrance Williams II, left, and guard Wesley Yates III, right, try to steal the ball away from Oregon guard Jadrian Tracey in the first half Wednesday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Until the Ducks got hot late, USC had held them to a meager 30% from the field through 32 minutes. But the final eight would prove to be the issue.

Point guard Desmond Claude did his best to carry the Trojans across the finish line with a season-high 22 points. Outside of Claude, though, few of USC’s shooters managed to find their stroke. The rest of the roster shot just 10 of 35.

Oregon opened the game shooting just one for eight from the floor, as USC swarmed the Ducks on defense in a way it hadn’t yet this season. With a renewed effort on that end, the Trojans forced nine turnovers in the first half, nearly matching Oregon’s per-game average before halftime, while limiting Oregon to just 23 points.

USC would need its defense to continue doing the heavy lifting from there. With both offenses grinding to a half, the Trojans clung tightly to a lead throughout the second half, relying primarily on Claude to orchestrate whatever offense he could manage.

Eventually, that grip loosened. Through one five-minute stretch, as Oregon sped past USC, the Ducks hit five straight from the field, including three from deep. The barrage turned the game on its head at the worst time for USC, which dropped its third straight game.