USC Basketball: Where Expert Lists Trojans In Latest Preseason Rankings

And where does USC rank among its Pac-12 peers?

Your University of Southern California Trojans are hoping that the growth of their returning pieces, coupled with the addition of two of the most written-about players among the incoming NCAA freshman class, will help them improve from a solid-if-unspectacular 2022-23 run.

Last year, USC saw its March Madness hopes dashed in the NCAA Tourney's first weekend, when it dropped its Round of 64 matchup against the Michigan State Spartans, 72-62. For the season, the Trojans finished with a 22-11 record.

So how are its prospects for postseason glory looking this year?

In his newest preseason appraisal of the 2023-24 men's basketball landscape, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has ranked USC pretty darn high among his top 26 collegiate clubs.

The new-look Trojans swing in at No. 12, above any of its Pac-12 rivals. Yes, even Cody Williams' Colorado Buffaloes. The Kansas Jayhawks, who boast a starry new recruiting class, take the top slot.

Parrish explains his thinking here: 

“This ranking is based on the Trojans returning four of the top seven scorers – Boogie Ellis, Kobe Johnson, Joshua Morgan and Vincent Iwuchukwu – from a team that won 22 games and secured a No. 10 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament," Parrish writes. "USC is also enrolling two heralded guards – Isaiah Collier, the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2023, and Bronny James, the son of NBA legend LeBron James.”