The call came Monday morning, just six days before USC played its final non-conference contest. In light of the deadly shooting on Brown’s campus, its men’s basketball team did not make the trip west. If coach Eric Musselman hoped to test his Trojans again before the new year, he and his USC staff had less than 24 hours to find a replacement.
That’s how USC found itself Sunday facing UC Santa Cruz, a 6-6 Division III team with losses to Chapman, Redlands and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. USC had no trouble defeating the Banana Slugs in a 102-63 victory. But given the difficulty it took to schedule Santa Cruz, no one was complaining about the flawless victory heading into the Trojans’ winter break.
Musselman, who notched his 250th career victory, initially hoped USC could find a D-1 program to take Brown’s place. But rules limiting the number of regular season games a D-1 program can play have significantly reduced that list. USC coaches counted by hand to decide which teams would fit.
They first looked at all the local schools, but found none would work. They looked at the teams playing local schools – and found none either. They even looked at Hawaii’s schedule, since schools that play Hawaii have a bye to allow for an extra game.
Only “a select few schools” meet any of the criteria, a person involved in the program told the Times. These teams could make this work because they had played a D-II or D-III team at some point during the season, which did not count against its game limit. It also meant, in some cases, buying out their playing contract with that school.
“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, you know, to get some guaranteed money.”
This was not the only complicating factor. By playing a Division I team, Musselman said, USC also ran the risk of affecting the strength of its team’s schedule come tournament time. Even a smaller margin of victory could mean paying the price.
So why not just cancel the game?
Waiting for USC after a brief holiday break, road trips to No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Michigan State. Musselman didn’t want to throw this challenge into four more days.
“From a basketball standpoint,” Musselman said, “we couldn’t afford to start our break tonight. »
The staff spoke with scheduling experts who agreed there was a logical option for USC: find a team from the lower ranks of college basketball that was willing to take a beating for the Trojans to fill out their non-conference schedule. That way, the game wouldn’t even be listed on USC’s tournament resume.
It was with all these criteria in mind that Musselman and his team settled on Santa Cruz. But the Banana Slugs, who voted as a team to face the Trojans, didn’t just roll over. They came out shooting three-pointers, scoring eight in the first half alone. They only made eight shots inside the arc the entire game.
With seven minutes left in the first half, Santa Cruz was down just three points.
But eventually, USC’s advantage in every other category except outside shooting would catch up to Santa Cruz. The Trojans hit an alley-oop, then another, then another in the second half. They made 18 of 19 to open the second half and dominated the glass, finishing with a 36 rebound advantage.
Musselman made it a point to give 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes more minutes with a big-three lineup against Michigan. Dynes responded with a team-leading 16 points, along with five rebounds and four blocks, which Musselman said was “a huge step in the right direction.”
The game also gave new point guard Kam Woods a chance to become familiar with the Trojans’ rotation. Woods missed all five of his shots in 21 minutes, but was grateful for his first action at the hoop since March, when he played with Robert Morris.
“I really needed this match,” Woods said.
For the Trojans, it was a necessary tune-up before the break. Considering what it took to get him into the program, their coach was especially grateful.
“Santa Cruz has stepped up,” Musselman said, “and I give them a lot of credit. I really do.”
