USC Basketball: Trojans Big Man Misses Cougars Loss, Out Indefinitely

The Trojans will be without their big man for the foreseeable future.

The USC Trojans snapped their two-game winning streak last night, as they fell to Washington State 72-64. The unfortunate aspect of the loss is that the team was without big man Joshua Morgan. 

Morgan has been in the starting lineup for a couple of weeks but had to be pulled due to an upper respiratory infection. 

“Leading post defender Joshua Morgan already was out because of an upper respiratory infection.”

via Thuc Nhi Nguyen

, LA Times

Even worse is that head coach Andy Enfield has no timetable on when Morgan will be returning to the lineup. 

“Enfield did not have a timeline for when Morgan might return and he wasn’t seated on USC’s bench. The Trojans turned to Vincent Iwuchukwu in Morgan’s place, but the sophomore got bullied by Washington State’s post players.”

via Thuc Nhi Nguyen, LA Times

Morgan is certainly missed, as Vince Iwuchukwu returned to the starting five in his stead. The issue is the team is often worse off when Morgan is not in the lineup. 

Vince Iwuchukwu moves back into the starting lineup after Joshua Morgan started both games last week.

Trojans are 1-4 when Iwuchukwu starts this season compared to 7-3 with Morgan in the starting lineup. https://t.co/sdIv8AbMWm

— Shotgun Spratling (@ShotgunSpr) January 11, 2024

Morgan wasn't the only Trojan dealing with an injury, as Isaiah Collier left the game in the 1st half with an apparent hand injury. 

Boogie Ellis also reinjured a nagging hamstring injury he has been dealing with. Ellis managed to secure 18 points despite his lingering injury. 

The hope is that Morgan can return sooner rather than later. The Trojans will face off against Colorado on January 13, and they will need to be at full strength to come away with the win.