Wednesday night’s loss to Washington all but ensured that the USC men’s basketball team would not compete in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. At this point, the Trojans are no longer close to earning a major conference berth, so their only chance of making it to March Madness is to somehow win five games in five days in the Big Ten Tournament.
USC will end the regular season with a crosstown showdown against rival UCLA on Saturday night at the Galen Center. On the face of it, this game means nothing to USC’s playoff hopes. Still, this is an important game for the Trojans, and especially head coach Eric Musselman.
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For one, competitive play always makes sense no matter the situation. This is especially true for Musselman, who has yet to beat the town school and is currently 0-3 in games.
As I wrote after the Trojans’ upset loss at Westwood last week, “The unfortunate reality is that the Trojans are currently 0-3 against UCLA under head coach Eric Musselman, with two of their three losses coming in blowout fashion. The Bruins have been nothing special in that stretch, either — UCLA has been an above-average Big Ten team at best over the past two seasons, and head coach Mick Cronin’s seat appears to be starting to heat up.
“The truth is, while men’s basketball hasn’t always been USC’s most successful or popular sport, this particular game is very important to fans. One of the main reasons Andy Enfield lasted so long at USC despite never winning a conference title and having limited success in the NCAA tournament was that he often put UCLA in its place. If Musselman wants to win over USC fans, he needs to find a way to beat schools across the city.”
Barring a surprise run in next week’s Big Ten Tournament, USC is set to be a huge disappointment this season. However, finally getting his first win against UCLA will help Musselman alleviate some of the disappointment as the Trojans prepare for next season.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: UCLA game means big things for Eric Musselman and USC men’s basketball
