LOS ANGELES — Two weeks back from its lengthy layoff, two losses after its undefeated start was spoiled by Stanford, USC had seemed to finally find its footing. The defense that ranked among the nation’s best before its COVID-19 pause was back on track. The last three teams to face USC had limped to the finish line, stunted by its suffocating defense and buried by a Trojans barrage from the perimeter.
But on Thursday, in a return meeting with the Cardinal, that effort took No. 15 USC only so far, bringing Isaiah Mobley to the stripe with a chance to tie with two free throws. He hit the first, only to have to wait and think about the second during a Stanford timeout. When he finally stepped to the stripe, his shot clanked off the back of the rim, and for the second time in 16 days, Stanford dealt USC a defeat, 64-61.
The loss was a crippling blow amid a bounce-back stretch. After its defense held its last three opponents to 35% or less from the field, Stanford matched its shooting output from the two teams’ first meeting, when the Cardinal took advantage of a USC team out of sorts after a 19-day gap between games.
There was no such excuse on Thursday, as USC fell apart late and let Stanford stick around until it ultimately went cold. For three minutes in the final stretch, the Trojans didn’t make a shot, giving Stanford all the chance it needed to cut them down again.
It didn’t seem Stanford would get that chance, not as USC put the pedal to the floor late in the first half, following a similar pattern to many of their recent uneven starts. Its defense was dragging. Its rebounding was lackluster. And Stanford was rolling from the start, hitting one shot from long range, then another, then another, even adding a banked-in three. Before the Trojans could catch their breath, the Cardinal were in control, ready to stop USC in its tracks for the second time in two weeks.
And then, USC flipped that familiar switch, the same one it flipped three nights earlier, when it dispatched Arizona State’s early run in a matter of minutes. The same one it flipped over its Rocky Mountain trip to secure a sweep. The same it mastered over the course of its 14-0 start.
But the switch short-circuited in the second half, as Stanford continued to stick around.
For the third straight game, Drew Peterson led the Trojans in scoring with 14, while Mobley had just nine points in a relatively quiet night.
The Cardinal had already played spoiler for USC this month. The Trojans were still clinging to their 14-0 start when the two conference foes met 16 days ago, with USC fresh off its lengthy COVID-19 pause. But USC struggled to shake off the rust, unable to find its footing with a defense which, at the time, ranked tops in the nation in field goal percentage defense. Stanford shot 43%, the best of any USC opponent to that point, and upended the Trojans undefeated start.
From the start, it seemed recent history may repeat itself. Stanford came out firing, while USC came out flat-footed. Midway through the first half, the Cardinal were in complete control, leading 23-15 and shooting 73%.
That’s when the Trojans finally woke up, going on a 15-0 run. The defense was suddenly suffocating, forcing 12 consecutive misses from the Cardinal, and from there, everything else followed. USC closed the first half hitting seven of its last 11 from the field and cleaning up 10 of the final 13 rebounds.
But that effort would run headlong into a wall at the worst possible time late, opening the door for Stanford to sweep USC for the season and leave the Trojans to do some soul searching.
