USC surviving injury-riddled season by constantly

When Eric Musselman and his workers rigorously pieced together this USC staff through the switch portal last spring, the lineup announced Tuesday evening forward of the Trojans’ 88-71 win over Maryland was most likely not what that they had in thoughts.

Ryan Cornish, the Dartmouth switch beginning at one guard spot, didn’t scratch the rotation until December. Kam Woods, the other beginning guard, wasn’t even enrolled at USC until late last month. And in the center, 7-foot-5 heart Gabe Dynes had been enjoying a mere seven minutes a evening just a few video games prior.

It was a far cry from the group Musselman thought he’d have at this level in his second season at USC, with the majority of the Big Ten schedule still forward. But Alijah Arenas, the five-star freshman guard, was decreased to icing his knee on the sideline, his return delayed at least one more week. Chad Baker-Mazara, USC’s main scorer in December, spent most of Tuesday evening stretching out his sore neck, unable to go, and Rodney Rice, the Trojans main scorer in November, was laid up at home recovering from shoulder surgical procedure he’d undergone that very day.

The onslaught of accidents made the past two months, in the phrases of USC’s coach, both “draining” and “the most challenging ever.” But apart from two blowouts in the state of Michigan and a blown fourth-quarter lead to Washington, the Trojans haven’t regarded all that a lot worse for the damage on paper, having stacked up 14 wins, and trending toward an NCAA event invite for the first time since 2023.

They’ve accomplished so by changing into a different staff, practically evening in and evening out.

“We’re constantly reinventing ourselves,” Musselman said. “Every game has a different identity.”

Over the Trojans’ past 5 video games, Musselman hasn’t used any one lineup more than 6.9% of the time, according to the analytics web site KenPom.com. Jordan Marsh, who led USC in scoring with 20 on Tuesday evening, had performed a mixed seven minutes over the earlier two video games. Terrance Williams, meanwhile, went from beginning against Michigan State to scraping together just seven minutes against Minnesota and Maryland.

In Tuesday evening’s win, 36 of the Trojans’ 46 factors in the second half got here from either Dynes, Marsh, freshman guard Jerry Easter and ahead Jaden Brownell, none of whom have been anticipated at the start of the season to rank among the top 5 in scoring for USC. The sport before that, in Minneapolis, USC received just a single level from its bench after halftime — and a mixed 43 from Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar.

The only factor that’s remained constant about USC’s strategy is how often it has modified. Musselman has tried just about every little thing, at one level beginning each of the ten members of USC’s rotation.

“A good team has players step up,” Musselman said.

Cornish is one. He’d performed a complete of eight minutes through the month of November, but rapidly earned the trust of USC’s workers for his effort on protection and his willingness to do the little issues, like box out and take prices.

“I just wanted to produce in some way where I could help the team,” Cornish said.

He began at guard on Dec. 9 at San Diego, just his third sport in the rotation. He’s been in the beginning lineup ever since.

Dynes has also all of a sudden turn into a key piece in the Trojans rotation, fulfilling the hype that accompanied him in the preseason. The 7-foot-5 heart has averaged over 23 minutes per sport over USC’s last 5, as Musselman has trusted him for longer stretches, leaning on his rim safety and his enhancing offense.

“He’s turning into a real, real factor for us,” Musselman said.

With Dynes in the lineup, 6-9 ahead Jacob Cofie has routinely kicked out to the wing, where he’s been requested to knock down 3-pointers and defend on the perimeter. That’s been a boon to his confidence, Cofie said, as USC’s three-big lineup has been a fixture since the start of the Big Ten slate.

“Every game has got a different mismatch,” Musselman said Tuesday. “It’s up to our staff to try to help figure out who and when they can help us.”

Even just a week in the past, that felt like an more and more unattainable activity. The Trojans have been coming off two blowout losses to Michigan and Michigan State, their season all of a sudden heading in the flawed direction. Plus, they have been worn out. “We needed a rejuvenation,” Musselman said. So they spent 4 nights together, taking it straightforward, eating meals as a staff, assuaging any stress that might need constructed up.

“We went through some adversity with the first two road games,” Marsh said. “But as a group, we just got more connected, more bonded.”

What that group will appear to be a few weeks from now is unclear. The earliest Arenas is probably going to return is next Wednesday against Northwestern — though his precise return date might come down to when Arenas’ inside circle indicators off that he’s prepared.

Baker-Mazara, meanwhile, is dealing with a neck issue, yet Musselman appeared a bit annoyed with the sixth-year senior’s state of affairs when requested about it Tuesday. He said that Baker-Mazara hadn’t practiced the earlier two days.

“We’re gonna roll with who’s practicing hard,” he said. “It’s that point in the season where everybody gets a little banged up. We’ve got a group that practices so hard — Ezra [Ausar], Jacob [Cofie], Gabe [Dynes].”

It’ll take every little thing they’ve received to keep up with No. 5 Purdue. The Boilermakers boast a lineup that’s spent years together studying their roles and becoming into a system.

USC, in many methods, will convey the alternative to the desk. There’s no telling who would possibly start Saturday at Galen Center.

“But that also could be the ace up our sleeve,” Cornish said. “We can throw so many different looks against them. They don’t know what they’re preparing for.”