USC basketball plays Illinois State in the Intuit Dome on Friday. The conventional wisdom heading into the season was that USC would need to lean on its defense to win under Eric Musselman. USC lost two high-end scorers from last season’s roster. It wasn’t instantly apparent that this new roster would pick up the slack. To be clear, USC is not facing elite opposition. Still, through a few games, the offense has exceeded expectations, as Trojans Wire’s Adam Bradford wrote:
“Per USC, it was the most points (114 on Sunday versus Manhattan) that the Trojans have scored in a game since 1998. Just how long ago was that? Well, let’s put it this way: 1998 was also the year that UCLA won its most recent football conference championship. So yeah, it has been a minute.
Advertisement
“The game was a stark contrast from USC’s two preseason exhibition games, both of which the Trojans won primarily with their defense. With it still being early in the season, it will be interesting to watch which style of play becomes the norm for the team. USC’s offense has been a pleasant surprise, but the obvious follow-up point to make is that the quality of competition has not been robust. Can USC sustain this when opponents get tougher?”
Let’s see if USC basketball can keep the train rolling against Illinois State. Follow along:
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC basketball vs Illinois State — live updates, analysis, more
