College Basketball

USC Basketball: Trojans Can't Stop the No. 5 Oregon Ducks

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:14 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Michael Castillo/FanSided via Reign of Troy

USC basketball (21-5) had their five-game winning streak snapped by the No. 5 Oregon Ducks at the Galen Center, 81-70.

The lowdown: True to form, Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks took advantage of an off shooting night by USC and jumped out to an early first half lead. They led by as many as 11 points, though the Trojans went into the half on a 16-7 run.

After the break, the stroke temporarily broke through for USC. They went on a 9-2 run to take a lead, aided by a pair of rare three-pointers from Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart. The Trojans led by as many as four, but Oregon answered with a 16-4 run of their own helped along by a string of turnovers and missed jumpers.

Despite an usually poor shooting performance, Bennie Boatwright’s five-straight points gave the Trojans a late rally down the stretch to pull within three. But it wouldn’t be enough. Oregon’s Tyler Dorsey hit a pair of three-point daggers to put the game out of reach.

USC was done in by a 37.3 field goal percentage, including making just 6 of 27 three-pointers. Boatwright was just 1 of 9 from distance.

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The takeaway: A victory would’ve been USC’s biggest of the season, and bolstered a strong NCAA tournament resume. But alas, the Trojans run their record against the RPI Top 25 to just 1-3.

It’s problematic because while USC should be in the tournament at this point, a high-profile win would do wonders for their seeding. Now they travel to two of the nation’s top teams –UCLA (21st in RPI) and Arizona (9th)– who are a combined 25-1 at home.

Highlight of the game:

Stat of the game: With the loss, USC has now lost Oregon 14-straight times. How long has it been? DeMar DeRozan was with the Trojans the last time they beat the Ducks at the Galen Center.

Next on tap: The 21-5 Trojans will now take a week off before busing across town to Pauley Pavilion next Saturday, where they’ll look to get their fifth-straight win over Steve Alford’s UCLA Bruins.

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