Compiled by USCTrojans.com blog contributor Ben Weiss...
A gritty effort by the Trojans against the No. 3 team in the nation falls just short. The three main storylines from today's game in Lawrence, KS...
A gritty effort by the Trojans against the No. 3 team in the nation falls just short. The three main storylines from today's game in Lawrence, KS...
- The much-anticipated debut of Fordham transfer Jio Fontan went more or less as expected. It had been a year since Fontan had played at game speed, and it showed a bit early on in the contest. He turned the ball over twice and looked a little winded in the early going, but hit his stride in the second half. On back-to-back possessions down the stretch, Fontan connected on a three-pointer and converted an and-one layup that was part of a 13-2 run that gave the Trojans their first lead of the game. "My nerves weren't as crazy as I expected. Not my best start, but in the second half I got more under control and started taking the right shots," Fontan said. With five seconds left and the Trojans trailing by one, the junior guard caught an inbounds pass on the right sideline and was called out of bounds. "That's just how it goes sometimes," Fontan said of the call. "We have to look at not putting ourselves in the position where one call can make us lose." After the game, Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor had high praise for his former high school teammate. "I'm looking forward to good things from Jio," Taylor said. "He's a great player. He's my man and I wish him the best of luck."
- The hot hand of Donte Smith played a crucial role in the Trojans' second-half run. With just over two minutes left, Smith buried a trey from the corner that caused the USC bench to erupt as the team took a two-point lead, 67-65. His five threes and six-for-eight shooting overall helped him pace the Trojans offense with a team-high 20 points. His shooting allowed USC to stretch the Jayhawks' defense and give more space for Alex Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic to work. Over the past two games, Smith has shot 10-16 from deep, and every one of his five threes today provided a spark for the Trojans that helped counter the raucous Allen Fieldhouse crowd. "I'm just playing with confidence," Smith said. "We played way harder than they did in the second half, we just didn't grab a few rebounds and it cost us the game."
- Before the start of the game, head coach Kevin O'Neill used Kansas's basketball tradition as a benchmark of what the USC program hopes to achieve. He told his players that in order to attain that level, they have to play and beat teams with great prestige. In the post-game press conference, O'Neill noted that the team was only a couple of Kansas offensive rebounds away from winning the game. Against one of the best teams in the nation, in a historic arena with crowd noise that reached 118 decibels, the Trojans should come away from this game with their heads held high. Kansas head coach Bill Self praised USC's toughness, calling them "one of the better defensive teams we've played all year." Unlike the Jayhawks, who have been on the better side of close games during their 65-game home winning streak, the Trojans are still working on closing out tight contests. "You have to learn how to close out games," Maurice Jones said. "We've lost a couple games down the stretch by two or three points, so we just have to learn how to finish out games."
I feel badly for theguys.
This loss felt just as bad as the last second kicks where we lost to Washington and Stanford this past football season. Had the game won, but defense messed up.
Well, a teaching moment or a learning moment, as they, say.... move onward to TN, and beat the Vols!