Did Oregon State loss crush USC’s NCAA Tournament dreams?

If the Trojans continue to drop games against teams below them in the Pac-12 standings, they won't qualify for March Madness

USC lost to Oregon State 61-58 on Saturday afternoon and the defeat may have cost the Trojans an NCAA Tournament bid. 

In the dying moments in Corvallis, Boogie Ellis shot a three-pointer that would have tied the game, but his shot missed and before USC could corral the rebound, the final buzzer sounded. The Trojans dropped to 17-8 and 9-5 in the Pac-12 with the loss. Oregon State improved to 10-16 and 4-11 in conference play. USC was without starting center Josh Morgan and guard Reese Dixon-Waters, who were both out with injuries. 

Coming into Saturday's game, CBS Sports analyst Jerry Palm projected USC as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN's Joe Lunardi projected USC as a No. 10 seed and one of the last four teams to earn a bye. 

Losing to Oregon State even without Morgan and Dixon-Waters will negatively affect USC's tournament chances though. Expect the Trojans to fall in both Palm and Lunardi's future bracket projections and maybe even drop out completely.  

USC has six Pac-12 games remaining and then the Pac-12 tournament before the NCAA Tournament draw. The good news for the Trojans is that they'll have a chance to improve their postseason resume in the future — No. 4 Arizona visits the Galen Center on March 2. 

USC's NCAA Tournament dream isn't dead after the Oregon State defeat, but it's on life support. If the Trojans continue to lose games against teams below them in the Pac-12 standings, they won't qualify for March Madness. 

USC's next game is on Thursday at home against Cal. The Bears are 3-21 on the year.