After scrambling to find an opponent, USC

The call got here Monday morning, just six days before USC was slated to play its ultimate nonconference contest. In mild of the lethal capturing on Brown’s campus, its males’s basketball workforce wouldn’t make the journey west. If coach Eric Musselman hoped to check his Trojans again before the new 12 months, he and his USC employees had less than 24 hours to find a substitute.

Which is how USC discovered itself going through UC Santa Cruz, a 6-6 Division III workforce with losses to Chapman, Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, on Sunday. USC had no hassle overwhelming the Banana Slugs in a 102-63 victory. But given the scrambling it took to schedule Santa Cruz, no one was complaining about the seamless victory heading into the Trojans’ winter break.

Musselman, who notched his 250th profession win, initially hoped that USC might find a D-1 program to take Brown’s place. But guidelines limiting the quantity of regular-season video games a D-1 program can play narrowed that listing significantly. It left USC’s coaches counting by hand to determine which groups would match.

They first thought-about all the local colleges, only to find that none would work. They seemed into the groups going through local colleges — and couldn’t find any there, either. They even seemed at Hawaii’s schedule, since colleges that face Hawaii obtain an exemption to permit for an additional sport.

Only “a select few” colleges match any of the factors, one particular person inside this system told The Times. Those groups might make it work because they’d confronted a D-II or D-III workforce at some level during the season which didn’t depend against its video games restrict. That also meant, in some circumstances, shopping for out their sport contract with that college.

“There are some Division I schools, we couldn’t get them to say yes, I don’t know why,” Musselman said. “Because I thought it was a great opportunity for some Division I schools to, you know, get guaranteed money.”

That was hardly the only complicating issue. By enjoying a Division I workforce, Musselman said, USC also ran the risk of affecting his workforce’s strength of schedule come match time. Even a smaller margin of victory might imply paying the price.

So why not just cancel the sport?

Awaiting USC after a temporary vacation break are highway journeys to No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Michigan State. Musselman didn’t need to start that gauntlet coming off an additional 4 days away.

“From a basketball standpoint,” Musselman explained, “we could ill afford tonight to start our break.”

The employees spoke with scheduling consultants who agreed that there was one option that made sense for USC: Find a workforce from the decrease ranks of faculty basketball who was keen to take a beating for the Trojans to fill out their nonconference schedule. That approach, the sport wouldn’t even register on USC’s match resume.

It was with all that standards in thoughts that Musselman and his employees settled on Santa Cruz. But the Banana Slugs, who voted as a workforce to play the Trojans, didn’t just roll over. They got here out firing from three-point vary, hitting eight in the first half alone. They would hit just eight pictures inside the arc your entire sport.

With seven minutes remaining in the first half, Santa Cruz was down just three factors.

But finally, USC’s benefit in every other class besides outdoors capturing would catch up to Santa Cruz. The Trojans slammed home one alley-oop, then another, then another in the second half. They hit 18 of 19 to open the second half and dominated the glass, ending with a 36-rebound benefit.

Musselman made a level to give more minutes to 7-foot-5 middle Gabe Dynes, with a three-big lineup coming up against Michigan. Dynes responded with a team-leading 16 factors, along with 5 rebounds and 4 blocks, which Musselman said was “a huge step in the right direction.”

The sport also gave new level guard Kam Woods a probability to get comfy in the Trojans’ rotation. Woods missed all 5 of his pictures in 21 minutes but was grateful for his first hoops motion since March, when he performed with Robert Morris.

“I definitely needed this game,” Woods said.

For the Trojans, it was a vital tuneup heading into the break. Considering what it took to get it on the schedule, their coach was particularly grateful.

“Santa Cruz stepped up,” Musselman said, “and I give them a lot of credit. I really do.”