USC Basketball: Washington State Reserve Confounds Trojans Defense In Loss

The Trojans are back at .500.

Your USC Trojans men's basketball team had no answer for the attack of Washington State reserve Isaac Jones on Wednesday, during a 72-64 defeat that dropped USC back down to a .500 record at 8-8 (2-3 in the Pac-12). 

As Thuc Nhi Nguyen of The Los Angeles Times writes, the Trojans' defense offered up little resistance to Jones in a critical, close contest. Senior combo forward DJ Rodman, son of Dennis and a transfer from Washington State this year, had more.

“To be honest, no one could stop Jones,” said  DJ Rodman.. “Having rim protection, we take that for granted so much. When Josh is there I’m not worried about if I get blown by, I know he’ll block the shot.”

Now, of course, the Trojans have been saddled with an even bigger problem: the absence of five-star freshman starting point guard Isaiah Collier, who is projected to miss the next 4-6 weeks with a right hand contusion.

Jones paced Washington State with 26 bench points, shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and a whopping 12-of-15 from the charity stripe, while also submitting 11 rebounds. He was a big part of the Cougars' significant paint advantage. Washington State outscored USC in that department by a convincing 34-28 margin.