The call came Monday morning, just six days before USC was scheduled to play its final non-conference contest. In light of the deadly shooting on the Brown University campus, the men’s basketball team declined to make the trip west. If coach Eric Musselman hoped to test his Trojans again before the new year, he and his staff at USC had less than 24 hours to find a replacement.
And that’s how USC found itself facing UC Santa Cruz, a 6-6 Division III team that lost to Chapman, Redlands and Claremont-Mud-Scripps, on Sunday. USC had no problem beating the Banana Slugs in 102-63 victory. But given the scramble it took to schedule Santa Cruz, no one was complaining about the smooth win before the Trojans’ winter break.
Musselman, who earned his 250th career win, initially hoped USC could find a D-1 program to replace Brown. But rules limiting the number of regular season games a D-1 program can play has trimmed that list considerably. He let USC’s coaches count by hand to decide which teams would fit.
They first studied all the local schools, only to find that none of them would work. They looked at teams facing local schools, and couldn’t find any there either. They even looked at Hawaii’s schedule, as schools facing Hawaii get an exemption to allow for an extra game.
Only a “select few” schools fit any of the criteria, a person inside the program told the Times. These teams could make it because they faced a D-II or D-III team at some point during the season that did not count against the playoff limit. This also means, in some cases, purchasing their playing contract with that school.
“There are some Division I schools, and we couldn’t get them to agree, and I don’t know why,” Musselman said. “Because I thought it was a great opportunity for some Division I schools to get guaranteed money.”
This was not the only complicating factor. By playing a Division I team, USC also risks impacting the strength of its team’s schedule come tournament time, Musselman said. Even a smaller margin of victory could mean paying a price.
So why don’t we just cancel the game?
Waiting for USC after a short break, there are road trips to No. 2 Michigan and No. 6 Michigan State. Musselman did not want to start this challenge after four additional days.
“From a basketball standpoint, we can’t afford to start our vacation tonight,” Musselman explained.
The staff spoke with scheduling experts who agreed that there was only one option that made sense for USC: Find a team from the lower ranks of college basketball that was willing to take on the beaten Trojans to fill their non-conference schedule. That way, the game wouldn’t even count on USC’s tournament resume.
With all these criteria in mind, Musselman and his staff settled on Santa Cruz. But the Banana Slugs, voted as a team to play against the Trojans, didn’t just roll. They came out firing from three-point range, scoring eight points in the first half alone. They hit just eight shots inside the arc all game.
Seven minutes before the end of the first half, Santa Cruz trailed by only three points.
But eventually, USC’s advantage in every other category except outdoor shooting would catch up with Santa Cruz. The Trojans slammed home one alley-oop, then another, then another in the second half. They scored 18 of 19 to open the second half and dominated the glass, finishing with a 36-rebound advantage.
Musselman made a point to give more minutes to 7-foot-5 linebacker Gabe Daines, with a big three-man lineup coming against Michigan. Daines responded with 16 points, along with five rebounds and four blocks, which Musselman said was “a big step in the right direction.”
The game also gave freshman guard Kam Woods a chance to get comfortable in the Trojans’ rotation. Woods missed all five of his shots in 21 minutes, but was grateful for his first putt since last March, when he played Robert Morris.
“I definitely needed this game,” Woods said.
For the Trojans, it was a necessary tune-up before the break. Considering what it would take to make it happen on the schedule, their coach was especially grateful.
“Santa Cruz has stepped up, and I give them a lot of credit. I really appreciate that,” Musselman said.