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USC Morning Buzz: Can Trojans Upset Gonzaga?

Something has to give tonight. Either Gonzaga will not be as good as its all-season hype or USC will have its season end in Indianapolis.

USC superfan Colin Cowherd, who even sold his house to Max Nikias, likes the Trojans.

“USC is not a great matchup for Gonzaga. First of all, they held Oregon last night to 38 percent shooting. They held Kansas to 29 percent shooting. They held Drake to 29 percent shooting. They’re going to give Gonzaga real troubles.

“They’re going to slow it down and they’re not going to give Gonzaga any freebies at the rim. They’re going to bat that stuff away. They’ve got NBA bigs and they’re longer than Gonzaga. Gonzaga LOVES playing with tempo and USC is going to slow this puppy down. There’s nothing like Evan Mobley left in the tournament.

“This game has a chance to be the best game of the tournament . . . I think Gonzaga/USC is a chance for an upset. I’m not calling it, but I think it’s a really fascinating matchup. USC’s defense right now is suffocating everybody. They took Oregon completely out of their offense and Oregon is a really good basketball team and a really well-coached basketball team.” 

  • USC might in the Elite Eight but that doesn’t mean Andy Enfield is a household name. Click on the photo.

Thanks, Floyd!

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  • When you play in the NCAA Tournament, you never forget it is run by the NCAA.
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25 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Can Trojans Upset Gonzaga?”

  1. well here it is…if sc beats gonzaga, the zags are NOT a team that’s deserving of #1
    if sc loses,like everybody else has, andy is a crap coach ,but all the other coaches who lost to gonzaga are still notable and fine…typical psycho thinking premises

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Would you expect anything less? There is no room for USC being anything but a failure or lucky. You have to understand someone like Scott who has accomplished so much in his life gives no room for anything but perfection. #hewritesablogandliveswithhismom

      Liked by 2 people

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    2. I want to see how Enfield’s team does after the Mobley bros are gone. If he does really well, then I will say he is a good coach.

      But let’s not forget how Helton had a few good season with Sam Darnold and the athletes recruited prior to his reign. After a couple of years of weak Helton coaching and recruiting, with a terrible coaching staff, the program fell apart.

      I think that Cronin has proven his abilities at UCLA more than Enfield has proven at USC at this point. Once the Mobleys are gone, then we see whether Enfield is a good head coach.

      In the meantime, got to love this SC bb team.

      Like

      Reply

      1. Enfield inherited a dumpster fire of a team and program. He has been a consistent winner after his first 2 years of turning the program around. Also you’re faulting his coaching ability because he got good talent to the program?

        Liked by 2 people

  2. Never mind that no team has gone undefeated through the season to be crowned champions since the mid 70s, they aren’t as good as advertised it they lose 1 game in 30…. Really?

    Or could it be that we could be peaking at just the right time? Hmmm, nah that would be coaching and then scottie would have to give Andy his due.

    Liked by 3 people

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  3. It’s amazing how bunched up people’s panties get over what Wolf writes.

    SC has a chance to do what it hasn’t done in decades, we’ll see if the team and coaching staff are up to the task tonight.

    Liked by 2 people

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  4. Cowherd nailed the analysis about USC’s D and how well Trojans are playing as a team. Thanks, Enfield!

    If Cowherd wanted to write about the most petty sports bloggers, I have a pretty good idea where he would start.

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Yesterday was “winners and losers” of the week, but I must think that the NCAA is again the loser of the week (actually loser of the past decade or more).

    Setting up a final few games in a huge FB stadium–and then having the stands empty–is inane. What I’d expect from a tone-deaf group of overpaid, sanctimonious white men.

    If only one minor league, well-run/well-funded professional BB association really takes hold, March Madness becomes March Misery and the NCAA only has CFB to prey on.

    Gonna be an interesting next decade for the NCAA.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. The NCAA home office is apparently earning $300 million from the tournament. All because there are some incredibly talented hoops players creating a product that is valuable. And the NCAA can’t let the fellas sleep over one more night?

      Liked by 4 people

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      1. Watch he ESPN doc “Survive and Advance” on the NC State team that won in 1983, the NCAA put them up in dump of a hotel in Corvallis, place looked seedy as shit.

        Liked by 3 people

      2. Wonder if things would have been different if it had been UNC and Dean Smith in the final, instead of NC State and Valvano.

        Liked by 3 people

      4. Budda, that is a hell of a find. Hard to pick a best part of the story, but here is a try:

        “The proprietor of the Riverview was a big guy who used the hotel
        bar as his office. “He was always in there with his accounting books
        and whatnot,” said N.C. State board of trustees chairman Wendell
        Murphy, who traveled with the team throughout the 1983 postseason.
        “I remember most of the time his britches had fallen about halfway
        down his crack, and I don’t think he was bothered by it at all. That’s the
        kind of place we were in.””

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Back to the game….

    Zags had a juggernaut of an early season–victories over KU, Bob Huggins’ WVU Mountaineers, Iowa, an a tough UVA team. None close. Had to be the toughest pre-season schedule in MBB.

    Having waltzed through their conference and had a relatively easy path through the Elite 8, I gotta wonder if they’re “beatable.” Trojans and Bulldogs commit same amount of TO’s. Zags are better at the FT line and beyond the arc–by a little. Both play intense defense, including contesting the 3.
    The big guys–Kispert and Timme–will likely be the best that the Mobleys will play against this year. Early foul trouble for the Trojans=a rough night for us.

    Our perimeter shooters–when hot–can win games. Coach Few will force White, Petersen, and Eady to beat him. Here’s to the fellas staying hot from beyond the arc. Punch ’em in the mouth.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Nice Bourbon, I’ll take the position that the Trojans faced the toughest schedule in the country. Just look at how many teams we played that were/are still playing THIS weekend. And to be honest, I feel like the quacks might still be on the board if not eliminated by us..

      On the other side of the coin, you have the Mobley Bros. who’ll be the best they’ve seen. The defense that they’ll face is also the toughest they’ve seen this season, especially inside the paint… none of those teams had the size/length combined with foot speed and agility we do, just sayin…

      Did you know that Creighton had more offensive rebounds than the zags Sunday? Gotta feel that that’s an opening to be exploited.

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. No college team in the country would have beaten USC last Saturday when they played Kansas. Has anybody seen a better 40 minute defensive effort in recent memory than the Kansas game? Defense is 90% effort, energy, communication, focus/play smart. Reproducible if the team is sufficiently rested. Trojans didn’t come close to that Kansas defensive effort against the quacks and they still won by 14. Reproduce that “Kansas Effort” and Trojans win.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. I’m with you on our athleticism a d length. Gonzaga hasn’t faced anything like because we are the only team like that. But, gonzaga is easily the best offensive team in the country. They have 5-6 guys who can go for 20. They share the ball batter than any team I’ve ever seen. It’s going to be fun to see how it plays out. A month ago, I would say we have no shot at all, but it’s not a month ago, we are peaking. Fight on!

        Liked by 2 people

  8. Scottie,
    When are you going to mention that our switch to a zone has been a great coaching decision? Enfield deserves credit for this adjustment, it has been a great move.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Not sure how much you’ve watched this season, but they’ve shown this defense at different times in various games this season. And honestly, they’ve not shown as much switching into and out of different zones and man to man as they did during the season.

      Remember Altman? Pretty much everyone thought he was the Dean of BB coaches in the Pac12? He’s now seen our defense 3 times and still hasn’t figured it out…

      I too am excited for a good game on both ends tonight💥✌🏾💥✌️💥✌🏾💥

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Bill Self wasn’t able to do anything against it. Kansas did not have one run. Not one. How often does that happen to a quality team?

        Liked by 1 person

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