On Wednesday night, the USC men’s basketball team fell 74-68 at home to Northwestern. With the loss, the Trojans dropped to 14-5 on the season and 3-5 in Big Ten play.
What did we learn from the game? Here are a few key takeaways:
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Embarrassing loss
Northwestern entered the contest 0-7 in Big Ten play. In fact, the only power conference opponent that the Wildcats had beaten all year was DePaul all the way back in November. For the Trojans to lose a game like that is simply embarrassing.
Another poor free throw performance
For the second game in a row, the Trojans delivered an incredibly poor performance at the free throw line. After making just five of its 14 attempts on Saturday against Purdue, USC missed a remarkable 17 free throws against Northwestern.
Effort in question
Following the game, USC head coach Eric Musselman openly questioned his team’s effort level in the loss. Ezra Ausar also admitted that the group’s work ethic is not where it needs to be right now.
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Arenas makes debut
One of the few positives to come out of the game was the season debut of highly-touted true freshman Alijah Arenas. Arenas made 20% of his field goal attempts, however, and finished with eight points, two rebounds, and two assists.
Up next
The Trojans will look to bounce back on the road when they travel to face Wisconsin and Iowa. Up first is a matchup with the Badgers in Madison on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. Pacific time/3:00 p.m. Central time on Peacock.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men’s basketball falls to Northwestern 74-68: Key takeaways
