Jio Fontan's three at the buzzer goes begging and the Trojans lose a tight one.
- The final two plays don't tell the story, but they left a lasting impression. "When we were supposed to be getting a three, we went and got a two. When we were supposed to get a two, we ended up shooting a three," head coach Kevin O'Neill said about the end of game execution. Jio Fontan still felt good about the winning shot when it left his hand. "I had to get up the best looking shot I could without forcing it," said Fontan, who received the ball with just two or three seconds to play. "I got it up and it felt good. It just didn't go in."
- The loss overshadowed a spectacular shooting display by Donte Smith, who made eight three-pointers, one shy of a USC single-game record. O'Neill played Smith over Marcus Simmons early in the second half to inject some offense and bust Cal's 2-3 zone. "Marcus wasn't making any shots," O'Neill explained. "We needed to see if [Smith] could loosen things up. He did a good job."
- Smith picked up the offensive slack for Nikola Vucevic, who fouled out with just six points in the game. The big man took a shot to his jaw early in the game and bit threw his tongue. He was bleeding from the nose and mouth. "He let that injury take him out," O'Neill said about his quiet night. "You have to learn to play through every situation if you want to do this for a living."
- USC will play three consecutive road games starting with Arizona State on Thursday. "It's very disappointing," O'Neill said about not taking care of business at home before this tough road stretch.
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