The USC men’s basketball team hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament under coach Eric Musselman. That should definitely change next season, with a more talented roster plus the tournament expanding from 68 to 76 teams. However, it won’t be enough to merely get in. The Trojans ought to be able to win games in March Madness. ESPN recently presented college basketball rankings after weeks of transfer portal activity. The Trojans are projected to be a Sweet 16 team:
“In terms of pure on-paper talent, there won’t be too many teams with more than USC next season,” the article began. “With Alijah Arenas expected to return, Eric Musselman will have five McDonald’s All Americans from the past two classes. The Trojans have an elite incoming class featuring three high-level recruits, they added a pair of Big East transfers in KJ Lewis and Eric Reibe, and they’re bringing back three key contributors in Rodney Rice, Jacob Cofie and Arenas. How will all the pieces fit? There’s a lack of perimeter shooting and a lot of guys who will want shots, but it’s an incredibly intriguing group.
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Rodney Rice, KJ Lewis, Christian Collins, Jacob Cofie, Eric Reibe, Alijah Arenas, the list goes on. USC has more scoring options, bench options, and frontcourt players to call upon. As long as the injury bug doesn’t hit too severely, USC will have a balanced team at both ends of the floor and in terms of the frontcourt-backcourt mixture. Just barely getting into a 76-team NCAA Tournament and then not winning a game would be a pronounced failure.
The bar has to be set much higher. USC should at least be a Round of 32 team, but the season will feel empty if the Trojans don’t get to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men’s basketball must do more than merely make NCAA Tournament
