After the USC Trojans men's basketball team lost to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, a video of USC players and coaches confronting some fans on the way to the locker room has gone viral on social media.
According to the account that posted the video, it was Purdue fans who instigated the altercation after heckling the Trojans off of the court. Nothing much came of it, however, with a number of USC staffers diffusing the situation.
It was a controversial ending as the Purdue Boilermakers won 76-71. However, the game was tied at 71 with under 30 seconds remaining, and USC forward Rashaun Agee was called for a controversial foul deep in the shot clock.
After the game, USC coach Eric Musselman expressed his frustrations when asked by reporters about the foul call.
"I saw what everybody saw, you know what I mean," Musselman said.
The Boilermakers made their ensuing free throws, and Trojans guard Desmond Claude missed a jump shot that would have tied the game at 73. Instead, Purdue's lead grew as USC continued to commit intentional fouls in the final seconds. Eventually, the Boilermakers won 76-71.
"This is probably the most difficult game I've ever lost with a team, and I've been coaching a really, really long time," said Musselman after the loss.
Trojans guard Desmond Claude led USC with 18 points, but Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn led all scorers with 30 of his own, including seven rebounds. USC got 11 points off of the bench from Trojans forward Matt Knowling, but it was not enough to upset the Boilermakers.
"I didn't know that Desmond was so physical, but he was tonight, I guess. The game's on tape, so anybody can watch it. It doesn't do me any good to sit up here and get fined or whatever. The game is reviewable for anybody that wants to," said Musselman.
For Purdue, they advance to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, facing the Michigan Wolverines on Friday night. The conference tournament concludes on Sunday, the same day that the NCAA Tournament field is revealed.
The Trojans spent part of the regular season on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, but USC is not expected to participate in March Madness after finishing with a 16-17 record. It is the only time in Musselman's career that his team has finished with a losing record. Last season with Arkansas, Musselman and the Razorbacks finished 16-17.
What will next year look like for the Trojans? The 2024-25 season was the first in the Big Ten and the first in the coach Musselman era for USC. The Trojans' 2025 recruiting features five-star shooting guard Alijah Arenas as well as four-star shooting guard Jerry Easter and four-star small forward Elzie Harrington.
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The Miami Dolphins have struggled through training camp and the first preseason game, but may have hit a new low in Wednesday's joint practice with the Detroit Lions. Reporters watching practice noted that Detroit outclassed the Dolphins on both offense and defense, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa struggling with timing and mistakes against the aggressive Lions' secondary. Speaking to reporters after practice, Tagovailoa refused to give himself a grade but admitted that his team was frustrated against the NFC Super Bowl contenders. "For a grade, I wouldn't give myself a grade," Tagovailoa said, via NFL.com. "I don't think that's fair to grade yourself. "My assessment -- I still wouldn't give myself a grade. I think that's for you guys to do with however you guys report that and whatnot. I think today offensively was a very frustrating day in regards to what we wanted to do, what we said we wanted to do. Came out and we just weren't able to get things jumpstarted, so that was very frustrating today." Tagovailoa is coming off a season where he appeared in just 11 games, completing 72.9% of his passes for 2,867 yards with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Dolphins Struggled in 'Lopsided' Practice Chris Cwik of Yahoo Sports noted that the Dolphins were "embarrassed" by the Lions in Wednesday's practice, which came after Miami already stumbled through mistakes in their preseason opener against the Chicago Bears. The Athletic's Colton Pouncy had an even more brutal assessment, calling it one of the worst performances he had seen from a team. "That was the most lopsided joint practice I’ve ever seen. Lions dominated both sides," Pouncy shared in a post on X. The practice may not bode well for Tagovailoa and the Dolphins, who dropped to 8-9 last season and return to a division with Super Bowl contending Buffalo Bills and a rising New England Patriots team.
So far, it has been a rather busy summer for several Premier League clubs, including newly-promoted Sunderland and Leeds United. The Black Cats have completed an extraordinary total of 11 signings, and recent reports point more towards a 12th signing rather than finished business from the club's board. However, there is also talk of potential departures, and in recent hours, it has been mentioned that defender Jenson Seelt (22) could be heading to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, recent reports suggest Leeds are about to sign a striker who featured on Sunderland's target list this same summer. Leeds United move on from Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz, set to sign former Sunderland target According to Sky Sports, Leeds United are about to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin, after the 28-year-old striker became available following the end of his contract with Everton. Given his contractual situation, it was logical that Calvert-Lewin would be linked with several clubs this summer, and that's exactly what happened. Some reports placed him on Sunderland's radar, but the Lads ultimately opted for Chelsea's Marc Guiu (19), who arrived at the Stadium of Light on a season-long loan. It was Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie who confirmed that the Lads were indeed interested in the 28-year-old Englishman, although his arrival ultimately didn't materialise. Yes Sunderland were interested in signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin earlier in the window, but I’m told no contract offer was made to the player. SAFC instead pushed ahead for Chelsea’s Marc Guiu and concluded that deal. Calvert-Lewin now signing for Leeds.Keith Downie The press also reported that Leeds could sign Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz, but it appears they will ultimately go for Calvert-Lewin instead, with the Cottagers set to sell their Brazilian forward to Serie A side Atalanta. Read More:
Just when it seemed everything was going right for Shedeur Sanders, the Cleveland Browns' rookie quarterback caught an unlucky break on Wednesday. The 23-year-old QB was sidelined during Wednesday's joint practice with the Philadelphia Eagles after suffering an oblique injury. Per Kelsey Russo of the team website, the 2025 fifth-round pick won't practice Thursday and is considered day-to-day. He is deemed unlikely to play in Saturday's preseason game against Philadelphia, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on NFL Network. Before Wednesday's practice, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed rookie QB Dillon Gabriel will start against Philadelphia as long as he's healthy enough to play. The 2025 third-rounder missed Cleveland's preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers because of a hamstring issue. However, Stefanski previously said Sanders would get more reps this week after a solid preseason debut. The former Colorado Buffaloes star received the start in the 30-10 win over Carolina, going 14-of-23 passing for 138 yards and two touchdown passes. Not playing against Philadelphia could disrupt Sanders' momentum. More importantly, it may eliminate another opportunity for him to overtake Gabriel in Cleveland's four-way QB competition. Sanders is listed as the Browns QB4 behind Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco on the team's unofficial depth chart. Despite questions about Gabriel's size (5-foot-11, 205 pounds), the coaching staff seems to favor him over Sanders. Earlier this offseason, Gabriel's processing speed reportedly impressed Browns coaches, giving him an edge over Sanders. The former Oregon Ducks star also received reps with the first-team offense during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, while his fellow rookie didn't. If Gabriel plays well against the Eagles, that would continue to affirm the coaching staff's confidence in the 24-year-old QB. Neither Sanders nor Gabriel is expected to be the Week 1 starter for the Browns. It's likely going to be Flacco, who helped Cleveland make the playoffs in 2023 when he went 4-1 during a late-season stretch. Still, another solid preseason showing could help Sanders position himself to replace 40-year-old Flacco in the future. With the setback, it may take more time to climb the depth chart.
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