Busting Brackets
Fansided

Pac-12 Basketball: 5 biggest questions for rest of 2019-20 season

By Tristan Freeman

ANCHORAGE, AK - NOVEMBER 08: Elijah Hardy #10 of the Washington Huskies reacts in the first half against the Baylor Bears during the ESPN Armed Forces Classic at Alaska Airlines Center on November 8, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
ANCHORAGE, AK - NOVEMBER 08: Elijah Hardy #10 of the Washington Huskies reacts in the first half against the Baylor Bears during the ESPN Armed Forces Classic at Alaska Airlines Center on November 8, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 21: Isaiah Mobley #15 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 21: Isaiah Mobley #15 of the USC Trojans (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

2. Should the USC Trojans be taken seriously?

Hope

The Trojans are an ugly team that has no great wins or bad losses on their resume. It is still unclear how they will fit into the bubble narrative at the end of the season, but they are probably the sixth-best team in the conference after a steep drop from the top five. With the Pac-12 looking more like a five bid league, USC’s resume may end up being too mediocre for a true chance at the Big Dance.

Cravalho

Definitely. Onyeka Okongwu, Nick Rakocoveic, and Isaiah Mobley filling out the frontcourt are as intimidating as it comes in college basketball. I wouldn’t want to go up against that much height and skill in the Conference of Champions. The Trojans are for real so hop on the bandwagon now.

Dieckhoff

The Trojans should be taken seriously as potential entrants into the NCAA Tournament, but they aren’t going to contend for the league title or anything. But I love Onyeka Okongwu and having him backed up by seniors Nick Rakocevic and Jonah Mathews is a formula for success. Pac-12 play is a much different beast, though, and there is a lot of talent around. I have USC as the fifth-best team in the league, but there’s not much breathing room between the Trojans and the handful of teams behind them.

Verboven

It’s hard to take any team too seriously in a season in which the #1 ranked teams have combined for a record that would struggle to make the NIT. With that being said, I do have confidence that the Trojans are a legit threat in the Pac-12. Sitting at 10-2, they have wins over LSU and At TCU. Their only losses coming to an up and down Temple Owls team, and getting “Markus Howarded” by the Golden Eagles as he dropped 51 in a 22 point loss for USC. T

he combination of Oneyka Okongwu (17.7 PPG, 9 RPG) and Nick Rakocevic (12 PPG, 8.3 RPG) inside will be and has been tough to match up with so far. Jonah Mathews has provided some leadership and production from the guard spot, but I feel it comes down to the production of Isiah Mobley and Daniel Utomi off the bench. I expect their numbers to drastically increase come conference time, as they give breaks to the young Trojan guards. USC should certainly be taken seriously and expect them to compete in every conference game.

Home/Pac-12