USC Trojans Basketball Season Ends With Villanova Loss In Crown Tournament

Musselman's inaugural season started off on rocky terms before the Trojans even hit the court. Once Enfield left after the end of the season for SMU, USC saw all their players with eligibility remaining enter the transfer portal.

In fact, the only player from the 2023-24 roster that carried over over to this season was forward Harrison Hornery. Musselman and the Trojans' coaching staff scrambled to put together a roster in a little over a month. As a result, it took a while for the roster to gel.

USC's non-conference schedule didn't go exactly to plan. The Trojans rattled off three wins to begin their season, but didn't inspire any hope in their performances vs. Chattanooga, Idaho State, and UT Arlington.

The Trojans' non-confernece woes continued when they endured their first losing streak of the season, dropping three conseuctive games. USC was knocked off by Saint Mary's, New Mexico, and Oregon. It was a sign to come as the Trojans would endure one more significant losing skid during the end of their conference schedule.

The beginning of the season also brought injury trouble for USC. One of the most highly anticipated transfers Musselman brought in, forward Terrance Williams, battled through injury to begin the season and was shelved for the remainder of the season after the loss to the Ducks on Dec. 4, 2024.

Heading into the Big Ten play, the Trojans hung around with some of the most experienced teams in the conference. USC took a few tough losses to Michigan and Indiana before picking up Mussleman's first siganture win of his Trojans tenure vs. No. 13 Illinois on Jan. 11.

A road win over one of the then-ranked No. 13 team in the country gave life to a program that was middling their way through the season. However, the mometum didn't last long for USC as the Trojans were downed by the No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers a few games later in a 84-69 loss.

Arguably their highlight of the season, USC took down No. 7 Michigan State 70-64 in a thriller at Galen Center. Once again, the Trojans' momentum fell off a cliff after a big win. USC lost their next seven of eight games, eventually spirialing from a 13-8 record to a 14-15 record.

USC split their final two games of the regular season to head into the Big Ten conference tournament. The Trojans took down Rutgers in the first round matchup before falling to Purdue in the quarterfinals.

Despite an up-and-down season from the Trojans, Musselman should be able to acquire the right pieces during his first full offseason at USC. The Trojans' currently have the No. 15 2025 recruiting class in the country according to 247Sports and are in the hunt for some of the top players in the transfer portal.