With under three minutes to play on Saturday night, USC men’s basketball had the No. 4 team in the country on the ropes. The Trojans had clawed their way to a two-point lead over Purdue, looking poised to pull off a signature win in front of their home crowd. But like the 14-point lead they built earlier in the game, it slipped away - this time under the weight of cold shooting and missed opportunities down the stretch.
USC hit just three of its final nine shots, and a pair of missed free throws by junior guard Jordan Marsh in the final eight seconds sealed the 69-64 loss. The defeat drops the Trojans to 14-4 on the season and 3-4 in Big Ten play - not where they hoped to be as they fight to stay in the NCAA tournament picture.
“Every game is difficult in this league,” said head coach Eric Musselman afterward. “The fight, the scrappiness, toughness - it was there [tonight].”
And he’s not wrong. The energy was there.
The execution? That’s another story.
Shooting Woes and Missed Freebies Cost USC
USC started the night hitting two of its first four three-point attempts. Then the bottom fell out.
The Trojans missed 15 of their next 16 from beyond the arc, finishing a dismal 3-for-20 from deep. For a team that normally shoots 34% from three, Saturday night was a rough outlier.
The free throw line wasn’t any kinder. USC went 5-for-14 from the stripe, including eight misses in the second half alone.
That’s a surprising stat for a team ranked in the top 10 nationally in both free throws attempted and made - averaging nearly 28 attempts and 20 makes per game. Musselman didn’t mince words about that.
“I hope they’re working on their foul shooting,” he said. “It’s inexcusable.”
Bright Spots: Baker-Mazara and Cofie Step Up
Despite the loss, there were some individual performances worth highlighting - starting with graduate guard Chad Baker-Mazara. Battling through a neck injury, he came off the bench for the second straight game and still logged nearly 33 minutes. He led USC with 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting, though he struggled from long range, going just 1-for-7 from deep.
Sophomore forward Jacob Cofie was a force on the glass. Already the team’s leading rebounder this season, he pulled down a career-high 15 boards and added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting - good for his fourth double-double of the year. Cofie’s motor and toughness were on full display.
“[I’m] playing with toughness [and] playing hard out there,” Cofie said postgame. “I feel like I’m doing a good job coming down and helping our bigs rebound.”
Cofie and senior forward Ezra Ausar have been the two constants in a lineup that’s been shuffled often due to injuries. Ausar, who sat much of the first half, came alive in the second, scoring efficiently and pulling down eight rebounds.
Junior center Gabe Dynes also brought energy, finishing with 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting and throwing down multiple dunks that got the Galen Center crowd on its feet.
Injuries Continue to Shape the Season
USC’s depth has been tested all season. Junior guard Rodney Rice - who led the team in scoring through its first six games - is out for the year.
Senior forward Amarion Dickerson remains sidelined with no clear return date. And highly touted freshman guard Alijah Arenas, ESPN’s No. 13 recruit in the class of 2025, has yet to make his debut.
Freshman Jerry Easter II was a late scratch due to illness, which forced Musselman to tweak his defensive game plan. Easter was expected to guard Purdue’s Braden Smith - the nation’s assist leader - and his absence was felt.
“[Easter] was a guy who was gonna guard Smith,” Musselman said. “He could have had an impact on this game defensively.”
Purdue’s Star Power Takes Over
Even in enemy territory, Purdue looked every bit the top-five team it’s been all season. And the Galen Center crowd - which included over 8,500 fans, the largest home crowd USC has seen this year - was heavily tilted toward the Boilermakers.
Purdue’s Braden Smith gave them plenty to cheer about. The senior guard poured in a game-high 22 points, most of which came during a first-half surge that flipped the momentum. Purdue closed the half on a 30-10 run, erasing USC’s early double-digit lead.
“I would love to see Purdue without Braden Smith and see how good their shooting is, or without [Fletcher] Loyer, or how about both of them not on the floor,” Musselman said, clearly frustrated by the damage Purdue’s backcourt inflicted.
Senior center Oscar Cluff added 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and hit clutch free throws late. Purdue finished 73% from the line - more than double USC’s mark - and knocked down seven threes in the five-point win.
Looking Ahead: Help May Be on the Way
There’s a silver lining for USC: reinforcements could be coming. Multiple reports indicate that Alijah Arenas is “probable” for Wednesday’s game against Northwestern. If he’s cleared, it would mark the debut of the highest-ranked recruit in program history - and potentially give the Trojans the true point guard they’ve been missing since Rice went down.
USC will face Northwestern (8-10, 0-7 Big Ten) at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Galen Center.
It’s a must-win, plain and simple. The Trojans need to get back on track, and if Arenas is ready to go, it could be the spark they’ve been waiting for.