USC men's basketball fights to the end but falls to Purdue in Big Ten Tournament
USC men's basketball fights to the end but falls to Purdue in Big Ten Tournament USC basketball went down fighting this March
After defeating Rutgers in the first round on Wednesday, USC men's basketball advanced to play Purdue in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday night. The Trojans entered the game as heavy underdogs, with few giving them much of a chance to take down the Boilermakers.
No one told USC the point spread, though. The Trojans were able to keep a heavily favored Purdue team in check, with the two teams battling neck-and-neck for nearly the entire night. In the final minutes, however, Purdue was able to pull away and emerge with a 76-71 win.
A few really bad calls went against the Trojans late in this game, but the larger lesson about sports is that teams have to be good enough to absorb a few bad calls along the way. USC was never above that margin for error this season. Everyone knows Eric Musselman has to upgrade the talent on this roster.
With the loss, USC's tumultuous season now comes to an end. After having to put together a makeshift team under a very tight time frame last year, head coach Eric Musselman will operate with fewer constraints. He won't have a post-Andy Enfield player exodus in this offseason cycle. Muss will have much more control over the roster moving forward. It will be up to Musselman to put together a better team in the future and ensure that the program is a consistent contender.
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