Wesley Yates III and Desmond Claude help USC men | College News

At the tip of a long, emotional week, USC’s men’s basketball employees emerged one after the other from the Galen Center tunnel simply earlier than tip-off Tuesday, relieved as ever to be back home. Days earlier, as wildfires ravaged their metropolis, the workforce was 2,000 miles away, caught first in a southern Indiana lodge then in a comparable one in Illinois, diminished to periodic updates from assistant Will Conroy, who had downloaded native information apps to his telephone.

The uncertainty made for an unnerving few nights. Assistant coach Quincy Pondexter initially wasn’t sure whether or not his home in Pasadena survived the Eaton fire. Conroy’s household had evacuated, as did the girlfriend of USC’s director of basketball ops, Caleb Cline. Players have been on edge too. Guard Clark Slajchert, who grew up in Oak Park, watched the Kenneth Fire warily, worrying about his household. Together, as a workforce, they talked by way of the strain, counting down the times till they returned.

“We were super anxious to get back home,” coach Eric Musselman mentioned.

Somehow, with that weight nonetheless heavy on their shoulders, the Trojans managed to earn their first highway win over a ranked workforce in 15 years final week at Illinois. They flew home the subsequent day to search out their households protected and their houses nonetheless intact. And by Tuesday night time, as USC’s offense got here alive in a 99-89 victory over Iowa, it was clear they’d discovered more than simply emotional respite upon their return to L.A.

Something definitely modified in current weeks of a season spent making an attempt something and every part to search out the suitable components for a roster rebuilt on the fly. The USC that blew previous Iowa, capturing a beautiful 65% from the ground, appeared nothing just like the group that put up 36 factors towards Saint Mary’s six weeks in the past. Nor did anybody then count on the Trojans would outrebound any workforce by a margin of 17, as they did Tuesday.

So a lot has been ironed out within the meantime, starting with the emergence of freshman Wesley Yates III, who reminded within the win over Iowa simply how a lot he’s raised the ceiling of USC’s offense. Yates completed with a career-high 21 factors, dominating equally from within the lane and behind the three-point line, the place he knocked down 4 of 5 makes an attempt.

He was one of three scorers with no less than 20 factors, as soon as again justifying Musselman’s determination final month to insert him into the lineup. In 5 Big Ten video games since, he’s averaged more than 18 factors per recreation.

“Wes’ minutes and evolution has changed our season, to be honest with you,” Musselman mentioned. “We don’t know where it goes from here. Right now, he’s changed things.”

But within the closing minutes Tuesday, with Iowa refusing to bow out quietly, Yates bricked two essential free throws. A 19-point deficit for the Hawkeyes, who got here into the sport as one of the highest capturing groups in school basketball, was cut to simply 5 in much less than six minutes.

An 86% free throw shooter, Yates barely had missed from wherever on the courtroom. The first snag lastly got here within the center of the Iowa run that Musselman and his workforce had been anticipating all recreation.

It was a essential second for a workforce that’s usually struggled with its late-game resolve. But when Musslman gathered his workforce in a huddle during a timeout, he barely needed to converse. Players took the phrases proper out of his mouth, he mentioned, barking to one another about buckling down on protection and limiting fouls.

“That,” Musselman mentioned, “is when you know you’ve turned a corner.”

It wasn’t long earlier than USC lastly speeded away from Iowa, with Desmond Claude and Saint Thomas taking control to close out the Hawkeyes. Claude, recent off his own career-best recreation in Illinois, continued his stellar stretch with a team-high 25 factors, giving him 57 over his final two. Thomas, in the meantime, performed arguably probably the most environment friendly recreation of his profession, scoring 24 factors on nine-for-10 capturing whereas including 9 rebounds and seven assists.

“Once we fully locked in and continued to get more comfortable with each other, you see what happens,” Claude mentioned.

That evolution is ongoing. At one level Tuesday, it appeared USC would run away with a lopsided victory. Just earlier than the half, with the Trojans main by 16, the Galen Center crowd rose to its ft for an ovation.

USC had to work to earn that ovation within the second half, as Iowa caught fire and mounted a comeback. It required Claude and Yates taking part in all 40 minutes, whereas Thomas was close behind with 37.

But after a nerve-racking week, there was no shaking the Trojans of their return home. The rigidity ultimately lifted, leaving USC with a second straight Big Ten win — and loads of motive to hope for more.