USC Basketball: Trojans Fall To .500 In Double-Digit Loss To Auburn

The club is now 5-5 on the year.

A 22-point night on 7-of-15 shooting from the field (3-of-7 from deep) and 5-of-7 shooting from the foul line, courtesy of fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis hardly helped your USC Trojans stave off yet another early season defeat, this time a lopsided 91-75 loss to the Auburn Tigers on the road.

Freshman guard Isaiah Collier, the No. 1 recruit in his high school class and a projected NBA lottery pick next summer, chipped in 13 points while shooting 4-of-8 from the field and dishing out three dimes. Less excitingly, Collier also fouled out yet again, playing just 18 minutes. His absence didn't exactly help USC close the gap down the game's second-half stretch.

Only one other Trojan, 6'5" sophomore reserve guard Oziyah Sellres, scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor. 

Collier scored seven of the Trojans' first nine points, helping to propel USC to an early 9-6 edge. The Tigers quickly assumed permanent control, however, following a 24-7 run in response to USC's quick start.

In his second-ever college game, highly touted four-star freshman combo guard Bronny James played 14 minutes, scoring five points on 1-of-4 field goal shooting. He also logged two rebounds, plus a turnover and a foul.

USC's other three starters -- junior small forward Kobe Johnson, undersized senior power forward DJ Rodman, and sophomore Vincent Iwuchukwu -- combind for just 10 points on 3-of-15 shooting from the field. The vast majority of those misses were courtsy of Johnson, who went an ice-cold 2-of-13 from the field.