USC Hoops: Mobley Brothers Need To Play Big Against UC Irvine
On Tuesday night, the Mobley brothers will need to live up to their recruiting rankings as the Trojans take on the UC Irvine Anteaters.
The Anteaters are a team that draws similar parallels to the Trojans. Offensively, both teams want to play an inside-out style of basketball. So that means the Mobley brothers have to leave their imprint on this game, not just offensively, but defensively too.
The two leading scorers for UC Irvine come from their front court. Their senior center Brad Greene is a legit 6-foot-11, 270 LBS. With a body like that, no wonder he leads this team in scoring with 12.3 points. He won’t be afraid to bang down low, considering the closest person to him in weight on USC’s roster is Isiah Mobley at 235 LBS.
The second leading scorer is Greene’s front court teammate Collin Welp. Even though he is only averaging 11.8 points, the junior forward might be the Anteater’s most dangerous offensive weapon. Welp led the team in scoring just last season, while being named to the All-Big West First Team. What makes Welp so dangerous is his ability to hit from the outside. Now, he may have only hit three, threes this season, but that’s because he’s only attempted six shots from behind the arc all year. But if you look at his numbers from last year, he was 38-of-86 from distance - that’s a 44.2% clip.
The Mobley brothers have shown the ability to hold their own defensively all season, especially Evan Mobley. He is currently leading all Pac-12 players in blocks (10), trying to break the freshman record set by Onyeka Okongwu just one year ago.
But if the Trojans don’t want a repeat of what happened Thursday against the Huskies, then these two bigs need to crash the glass and box-out more effectively. USC gave up 15 offensive rebounds to UConn, which is more than what they typically give up on average.
If USC allows UC Irvine to get second-chance opportunities then there is potential for the Trojans to be shot out the gym. The Anteaters as a team make 39.1% of their three-point attempts which leads the Big West Conference.
The game plan for stopping a team is always easier said than done, but for USC it all starts with the Mobley brothers limiting shots in the paint. UC Irvine wants to get as many looks as they can near the basket, it’s why they are third in the nation in two-point attempts per game.
The Trojans 2-3 zone was super effective in limiting the Huskies offense in the second half of their last game. We’ll see if Coach Andy Enfield elects to go with more zone in this matchup and really try to clog the paint. If the Trojans can take away the first look at the rim and not allow many second-chance opportunities, they will be set-up well for their fourth victory of the season.
[WATCH: Sunday Night Sound Bites: "There's a reason that 'C' is on Amon-Ra St. Brown's chest"]
[READ: USC vs UCLA Game Time Announced]
For more USC news visit www.alltrojans.com. Follow us on Twitter.
