Ruben Report: USC Trojans struggle past Brown, 81-70

The USC Trojans beat a 1-4 Brown University team 81-70 Sunday night at Galen in a game that was closer than the final score. The Bears tied the score at 66 with just under five minutes left and USC led by only one with 2 1/2 minutes to go. But the Trojans pulled away in the last minute from the line and with a Boogie Ellis shot clock beater three from about 35 feet. The win came in front of a decent crowd of 4,500.

USC welcomed back Boogie and Kobe Johnson and they were both desperately needed. Boogie scored 28 points, making 9-17 and 6-11 from three. Isaiah Collier added 24, making 8-14 and 3-5, and Kobe chipped in 14. The rest of the team, not so much.

USC Needs Much More From its Bigs

The frontcourt group of Josh Morgan, Harry Hornery, Vince Iwuchukwu, Kijani Wright and Arrentin Page were a combined 2-13 from the floor. Vince and Kijani made a basket each. Vince also made 5-6 from the line and Josh 2-2 but the Trojans will need far more from this group going forward. The Trojans were much bigger but could not take advantage. They were outscored 28-18 in the paint and 15-12 on second-chance points. The Bears were plus six on the boards in the first half before USC righted that stat and finished up three.

DJ Rodman was held out of the game with what Andy Enfield described as a soft tissue injury. DJ is day to day and Enfield said they were hoping DJ would be available Thursday in San Diego. Harry Hornery started in his place but was scoreless in 26 1/2 minutes, though he tied for team high with Josh with 9 boards. Vince had 7 rebounds to go along with 7 points.

For much of the game, the bigs were MIA. Kijani made his only shot attempt but didn’t get a rebound. Arrentin missed all four of his shots, Josh didn’t attempt a shot and Harry was 0-3. This was against a team whose tallest player was 6’8”.

Brown came into the game 1-3, losing to Colgate and Loyola Md in close games before being blown out by 18 by New Hampshire. This is not exactly the resume of a power, yet the Trojans struggled. Andy Enfield has to be concerned that the Trojans could not control the boards or get production inside against an outmanned Bear team.

“The Bigs were 0-9 in the first half,” Enfield said. “They have to score in the paint and finish. We have to keep getting better.” He added: “Vince is going to be a very good player. He’s a very hard worker. He missed some easy shots tonight. His timing is close but not quite there; I’m sure he’ll be there soon.”

It appeared Vince was having trouble with his footwork and was not on balance on a couple of his shots. In an encouraging sign he grabbed four offensive boards but missed easy put backs. Vince is probably the big who has the best chance to break out offensively though the most proven scorer of the group is probably Harry (at least in a couple, of games).

The Trojans Won The Game From The Line And From Three

USC was a collective 8-13 from beyond the arc in the first half and finished 12-24, nine makes coming from Boogie and Isaiah. By contrast, the shorter Bears were only 9-33 (27%). USC went to the line far more often and made ten more free throws, making 21-32 (65%) for the game after only 5-11 in the first half. The Bears resorted to fouling in the last minute plus and the Trojans knocked down those shots.

USC’s defense was good in the fist half holding Brown to 32% from the field but relaxed a lot in the second and Brown made some tough shots in going 14-27. The Bears leading scorer, point guard Kino Lily, Jr, scored 24 points but it took 25 shots or him to get that total. 6’8” forward Nana Owusu-Anane, the other big scorer for Brown, was held to 5-9 from the floor though he was the top rebounder with 13.

The Trojan defense was overall pretty good but not as good as they can play. They will need to return to their Kansas State form as the schedule gets harder this week in San Diego starting with Seton Hall on Thursday.

Other Game Notes

Isaiah made two very difficult driving shots on successive possessions and was fouled on both for three-point plays. He can make the difficult look routine.

Boogie’s shot clock beating three with just over 30 seconds left and USC on top by six looked to me to be late. The referees didn’t stop play to review the shot and the Brown coach was incensed for the only time in the game.

Vince got into the air above everyone effortlessly on a couple of his rebounds. His athleticism is amazing but his footwork and timing on inside shots need work. It’s surprising that the Trojans don’t use any pick and rolls with either Isaiah or Boogie on the ball; it would cause a lot of trouble for defenses. Nor have they attempted a lob inside this season. Their bigs seem made for these plays which can result in easy shots inside.

And One

There was some secrecy during the pre-game period. No one would answer any question regarding injuries or the starting lineup, which seemed very strange. It’s hard to think of a way Brown would get an advantage if the starting lineup was informally announced before game time.

Enfield and Jay Morris both have said that some of the missed passes from Isaiah last game that resulted in turnovers were caused by passes that were too hard from close range. The ones I remember to Josh inside may have been a little hard but have to be handled cleanly and not go off Josh’s hands for a turnover.

Bronny warmed up with the team in early warmups but was not dressed. There is still no word about when he will begin to practice or play

Enfield was still talking about the UCI loss after this game. He said that due to injuries they have not had many full five-on-five practices even with using the two walk-ons. Boogie returned to practice on Saturday and he and Kobe are not 100%. He added that Harry had to play the two-guard part of the game against UCI and that he had never practiced at that spot.

Finally, the Trojans have not looked the same since the opening win in Las Vegas over Kansas State. A lot of that is rightly attributed to injuries but it has become apparent USC will rely inordinately on the three starting guards this season. Although the trio has played very well, USC cannot rely almost completely for scoring on the threesome. The bigs must contribute much more. They need to dominate the boards, make some shots and play good interior defense. I’m worried that if there is not significant improvement soon there will be some more losses before conference play begins late in December.

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