Desmond Claude got here crashing to the hardwood, his proper knee caught awkwardly within the collision and the entire of Galen Middle holding its breath. For USC, with its match hopes hanging on for expensive life, there have been few extra troubling sights than this one: The crew’s main scorer and ground normal crumpled in a heap on the baseline, clutching his knee.
The times main as much as that second had already examined the boundaries of the Trojans’ mettle. A slim loss on Monday to UCLA left lingering considerations of their coach’s thoughts about effort. So Eric Musselman handed every of his gamers 10-pound weights to maintain in every hand Wednesday and proceeded to run them ragged, pushing them to the bodily brink.
“We just wanted to send a message,” Musselman stated. “How are you going to respond?”
The reply, from USC, could be a convincing one on Saturday: A 70-64 victory over No. 7 Michigan State through which it by no means trailed, by far its gutsiest win so far of the nascent Musselman period.
Not solely that however the victory gave USC its second win of the season in opposition to a top-20 crew and its second Massive Ten win at residence, the place it has in any other case struggled for the reason that begin of convention play.
No participant offered a extra becoming picture of that struggle than Claude, who reemerged from the locker room only a few minutes after he limped off, unable to place weight on his proper ankle. He spent just a few spare seconds on the stationary bike earlier than Musselman barked at him to get again on the ground.
“The team doctor was like, ‘Let’s give him another minute,’” Musselman recalled.
“Well, I don’t have another minute. Let’s go.”
Claude missed simply 5 minutes of sport time, and he spent the remainder of the sport combating via a lightweight limp. But it surely wouldn’t maintain him again from flying via the lane, fearlessly attacking the ring, like he has most of this season. He nonetheless completed with 19 factors, together with six rebounds and three assists.
Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr., heart, steals the ball from USC guard Desmond Claude, proper, as ahead Josh Cohen watches in the course of the first half.
(Mark J. Terrill / Related Press)
“I wasn’t going to sit out this game,” Claude stated. “It was a big game we needed. I had to step up. Even Coach told me, ‘We don’t got time for you to be out here feeling sorry for yourself. If you’re hurt, get out, but if you can play, then play.”
USC appeared like a crew that would play with anybody on Saturday. Wesley Yates hit well timed three-pointers on his solution to 15 factors, a mark he’s reached in seven of his final eight video games. Saint Thomas crammed up the stat sheet with eight factors and eight rebounds, regardless of being banged-up himself. Even Josh Cohen, who was changed within the beginning lineup Saturday for the primary time, had arguably his finest sport of the season with seven factors and three offensive rebounds.
Musselman threw his personal unlikely wrinkle into the equation, utilizing an unorthodox defensive scheme that he calls “paintball”, which he had used solely as soon as earlier than. That protection gave Michigan State hassle early on particularly, permitting USC to construct a crucial lead.
“It’s a huge gamble to play it the way we did,” Musselman stated.
But it surely labored swimmingly on Saturday, as USC held Michigan State to its second-lowest output of the season.
“If you’re playing the seventh-ranked team, an undefeated team and a team that’s 18-2 and hadn’t lost since late November, you have to exceed the energy of the opponent,” Musselman stated. “I thought that they bought into that.”
That vitality was evident early, one other byproduct of the message Musselman despatched earlier within the week. Within the wake of the UCLA loss, ahead Rashaun Agee had instructed that USC had been “a little too relaxed” in the beginning of its residence video games. In the meantime, on the highway, USC was 3-1 in its new convention, with a marquee win over a top-20 crew already on its resume.
There have been no such considerations on Saturday. Although, a crowd loaded with roaring Spartan followers screaming “Go green! Go white!” made Galen Middle really feel extra like hostile territory.
Inside seven minutes, USC had soared to a 15-point lead, whereas Michigan State struggled to search out any semblance of rhythm. Michigan State ultimately climbed again, slicing that result in a one possession on a number of events.
However USC refused to bend.
Michigan State mounted one final push late, with an opportunity to chop the lead once more to a bucket. However USC’s protection rose to the event, forcing a shot-clock violation with simply 39 seconds remaining.
Thomas’ play sealed it from there. Recognizing Yates rushing down the court docket, Thomas threw a one-handed move behind the Michigan State protection. Yates caught it in stride, needing simply two steps to slam residence a one-handed dunk, placing the ultimate contact on a convincing assertion for USC.
