USC basketball: Will the Trojans make the NCAA Tournament?

The USC Trojans made more headlines off the court than on the hardwood this season, but their NCAA Tournament fate remains undecided.

Injuries, scandals, FBI inquiries – it’s easy to forget that the USC Trojans actually fielded a basketball team this season. It’s even easier to forget they’re not half bad.

USC is 19-9 this season, including 10-5 in Pac-12 play, tying them with their Los Angeles rivals for second place in the conference. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t even be a question if that type of resume is deserving of NCAA Tournament inclusion.

But the Pac-12 looks weaker by the day, with no standout teams outside of the Arizona Wildcats, who haven’t lived up to expectations themselves. Of the ten Pac-12 victories the Trojans own, just two come against teams with winning records in conference play.

The losses are all palatable, but it would’ve been beneficial if at least one or two turned into victories. USC recently had a critical stretch on the road, traveling to UCLA, Arizona State, and Arizona. They were competitive in two of the three contests, but fell in all.

Their non-conference resume is nothing special either. They beat just one major conference foe, Vanderbilt, one of the worst major conference teams in the country this season. Wins against Middle Tennessee and New Mexico State are fine, but wins against Texas A&M and Oklahoma would’ve been much better.

The NCAA Tournament selection committee will need to determine whether the current makeup of the team is good enough to go dancing. The De’Anthony Melton saga is over, but he was never there to begin with. Junior Bennie Boatwright, however, averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game before suffering a season-ending knee injury last week.

With games against Colorado, Utah, and UCLA left in the regular season, USC enters a pivotal stretch. Two out of three victories – with one coming against the Bruins – should be enough to boost the school’s tournament profile.

In our latest bracketology, USC is listed as part of the “Next Four Out.” There’s time to change that.

Next: Mid-major NCAA Tournament droughts in danger

Time is running low in Los Angeles, though.