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Harlem Shook
The scene was set. A raucous student section, including Athletic Director Pat Haden and associate AD J.K. McKay, executed a Harlem Shake flash mob. The biggest Galen Center crowd of the season wanted something to cheer about, but the Trojans fell behind 7-0 immediately, and never really recovered. "We dug ourselves a hole early," said J.T. Terrell, who led the team with 17 points. "Some turnovers, some easy missed shots, I think that really made a difference in the first half." In all, the Trojans turned it over 17 times and only made 35% of their shots, so the early problems were a portend of things to come. "From that point, it was just tough to battle out of that. It just got away from us early," said interim head coach Bob Cantu.More Omar
Omar Oraby has seen his role shrink in conference play as Cantu has preferred smaller lineups to combat the undersized big men of the Pac-12. Today though, Oraby made his smaller opponents pay on the other end scoring 11 points on 5/6 shooting in only 12 minutes. Again though, the early deficit was the biggest factor as USC was forced to chase the game including implementing a full court press, which does not play to Oraby's strengths. "Omar was tremendous offensively," said Cantu. "We were trying to go with a quicker lineup defensively because we were down."
Quick Turnaround
The Trojans have no time to lick their wounds. Suddenly, the four-game winning streak has been replaced by back-to-back tough losses, and now a Wednesday night home game against No. 12 Arizona. "It's basketball. It's highs and lows. You can't get too high and you can't get too low," said Cantu who expects the team to bounce back. The Trojans are looking for a measure of redemption against the Wildcats after being blown out by 24 in Tucson.
