Kam Woods Ignites Furious Comeback, But USC Falls Just Short in Iowa
Effort doesn’t always show up in the win column-but it sure showed up in Iowa City.
USC guard Kam Woods put on a performance that Trojan fans won’t forget anytime soon, even if the final score didn’t go their way. Down 15 points with just over five minutes to play, Woods went into takeover mode, scoring 19 straight points for USC in a solo scoring spree that nearly flipped the game on its head. That stretch included a personal 12-0 run-yes, 12 unanswered points by one player-that brought USC all the way back to within a single point in the final minute.
His potential go-ahead shot didn’t fall, but forward Jacob Cofie was there to clean it up with a clutch offensive rebound and put-back layup, giving the Trojans a 72-71 lead with 8.7 seconds left. It was a moment that looked like the exclamation point on a stunning comeback.
But basketball can be cruel.
On the ensuing possession, USC freshman guard Jerry Easter II made a costly mistake, committing a foul with just 4.6 seconds remaining. Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz stepped up and calmly knocked down both free throws, putting the Hawkeyes back in front. Woods had one last chance to play hero, but his buzzer-beating attempt came up short, and Iowa escaped with a 73-72 win.
Woods’ Breakout Performance
Woods entered the game with just 25 points total since transferring to USC in December. He left the floor Wednesday night with a career-high 33, shooting 12-of-17 from the field and scoring 27 of those points in the second half alone. The senior guard, who had been 0-for-15 from beyond the arc this season, finally saw a pair of threes drop when it mattered most.
It wasn’t just the scoring, either. Woods added four steals, three assists, three rebounds and committed only two turnovers in a game where he shouldered the bulk of the offensive load. He became just the 25th player in USC history to record at least 33 points in a single game-and he did it in the heart of Big Ten country, nearly willing his team to an improbable road win.
How the Game Slipped Away
USC’s hole was self-dug. After leading by 10 late in the first half, the Trojans stumbled into halftime after allowing Iowa to close on a 13-2 run. A layup by forward Ezra Ausar gave USC a slim one-point lead at the break, but the momentum had clearly shifted.
The second half opened with a blitz from the Hawkeyes-20-4 in the first five minutes. That stretch ballooned the Iowa lead to as many as 17.
USC’s offense sputtered, its defense couldn’t stop the bleeding, and it looked like the game was getting away from them. Then came Woods, and everything changed.
But while Woods was nearly perfect in the final stretch, the Trojans couldn’t overcome one glaring issue: second-chance points. Iowa pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, converting them into 16 points. That kind of effort on the glass can tilt a game, and it did.
Supporting Cast: Mixed Results
While Woods stole the show, USC’s supporting cast had its ups and downs. Chad Baker-Mazara scored 13 points, but just two came after halftime.
He also turned the ball over seven times-nearly half of USC’s 15 total giveaways. Ausar added 10 points before fouling out with nearly seven minutes left.
On the Iowa side, Tavion Banks was a steady force before fouling out late, finishing with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. Stirtz matched that 20-point effort, hitting all six of his free throws-including the game-winners. Alvaro Folgueiras chipped in 14 points and hit two key threes, including several of Iowa’s final buckets down the stretch.
The Moment That Changed Everything
Cofie’s put-back layup with 8.7 seconds left looked like the storybook ending. But then came Easter’s foul-an aggressive reach-in that gave Stirtz a trip to the line and Iowa the win. It was a freshman mistake in a high-pressure moment, and it erased what could have been a season-defining comeback.
What It Means
This one’s going to sting. USC had a chance to pull to .500 in Big Ten play and add a valuable Quadrant 1 road win to its NCAA Tournament résumé. Instead, they head back to Los Angeles with a missed opportunity and a long flight to think about what could’ve been.
Still, there are positives to take away-chief among them, the emergence of Kam Woods as a legitimate scoring threat. If he can sustain even a fraction of that production moving forward, USC’s backcourt just got a whole lot more dangerous.
What’s Next
The Trojans return home for a Saturday showdown with Rutgers at 4 p.m. PST on Peacock. The Scarlet Knights are struggling, having dropped four straight.
Meanwhile, Iowa heads west to face Oregon on Sunday evening. The Ducks are looking to snap a six-game losing streak of their own.
Plenty of basketball left to play-but for USC, this one will be hard to forget.