USC Drops Out Of AP Top 25, But Makes Andy Katz's March Madness Projections
It was a short lived stay, but USC has fallen out of the AP Top 25 rankings.
The Trojans were only ranked for the last two weeks, peaking at #17 in week 13. After a hot streak where USC rattled off seven straight wins, the team has struggled since. They’ve won only three of their last four games and the offense has been ice cold.
If we eliminate the win against Oregon, the Trojans are only shooting 39.2% from the floor over the last three games. What’s even worse is their three-point shooting absolutely cratering during that stretch. In their last three losses, USC went 14-of-49 from three (28.5%).
And it’s no surprise this rough patch for the Trojans offense comes right when Evan Mobley is going through his worst stretch of the season. Mobley is averaging just 11.6 points over his last three games which pales in comparison to his season average of 16.4 points.
The slump USC is going through wouldn’t normally cause concern because we’ve seen the offense have nights when they are not particularly effective, especially from the perimeter. But this one is a little different because their defense has struggled, which has been the backbone and identity of the team.
On the season, opponents are only averaging 65 points a game against the Trojans. But if you look at USC’s last three losses, they are surrendering a gaudy 77.3 points a game and their opponents are knocking down 53.7% (29-of-54) of their three-point attempts .
It has been a combination of both poor shooting on offense and not being able to get stops on the perimeter on defense. But even with their recent struggles, the Trojans are still set up for success in Andy Katz's latest NCAA tournament projections.
Katz has USC slotted into the No.5 seed taking on either Drake or Seton Hall in region 1, depending on who wins the First Four play-in games. The scariest thing for the Trojans is being in the same region as the undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs (25-0).
But before we get to selection Sunday, the Trojans still have two regular season games on their schedule against the Stanford Cardinals and the UCLA Bruins. With the Trojans only a half game back of the Bruins in the loss column, nothing is set in stone just yet.
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