Miami is in the Sweet 16 for the second straight year. The Hurricanes were not in Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll. They have a 73-year-old coach (Jim Larranaga). They weren’t even favored to beat USC in the first round last season en route to the Sweet 16. They also don’t make excuses about injuries. They just play. Some teams just seem to thrive in … Continue reading USC Notes: Miami Does It Again

I didn’t intend to say anything else about USC basketball but assistant coach Chris Capko took to twitter to laud the program and appreciate its accomplishments. All I will say is two first-round victories in nine years. March Madness is the cream of the crop (a thread). Coaches work decades and never get the experience. Players play entire college careers and don’t get a taste. … Continue reading USC Sunday Buzz: A Decade Of Accomplishment

There are of Cinderellas in the NCAA Tournament and while it wasn’t one of the biggest upset, Florida Atlantic surprised some with its victory over Memphis. Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May was an administrative assistant/video coordinator at USC from 2000-02 under Henry Bibby. May left USC to take an administrative job at Indiana and then was an assistant at Eastern Michigan, Murray State, Alabama-Birmingham and … Continue reading A USC Connection You Might Not Know About

USC had the privilege of playing Friday at Nationwide Arena in Columbus before 20,000 fans. It was the first game of the day in the NCAA Tournament, it was on CBS (no truTV), and it was guaranteed a large audience because for the first 90 minutes, the only other competition was Kennesaw St. vs. Xavier (on truTV). I mention all this because this game was … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: One Final Thought On Columbus

The USC women’s basketball team and men’s basketball team had identical endings to the season. They both lost their first games of the Pac-12 Tournament. And they both lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The women’s team lost in overtime to South Dakota State, 62-57. It was a brutal game. USC shot 31 percent and made 6 of 24 shots from 3-point … Continue reading USC Women’s Basketball Is One And Done

Tell me this doesn’t describe so many USC losses during the Enfield Era. “I thought in the second half there were a couple possessions where we went one on one too much instead of just playing basketball the way we’re capable of,” Andy Enfield said. “We also missed some wide open, timely shots. To win a game like this, they hit a couple of big … Continue reading This USC Loss Had A Familiar Feature