UCLA vs. USC: 3 key storylines to watch for 2020-21 Pac-12 matchup

Rotation observations for USC

Ever since Ethan Anderson came back from injury in mid-January, the distribution of minutes for USC has been wacky, to say the least.

Having the ability to have the ‘next man up’ mentality is one Enfield encourages and has shown in recent games. The Mobley brothers, along with Tahj Eaddy have been mainstays in the lineup and can be expected to be in down the stretch in tight games no matter what.

After that, there is a number of question marks. Drew Peterson played 30 minutes in the win over Stanford the other day but played around 20 in the two games prior. Ethan Anderson’s minutes have fluctuated from 14 all the way to 28 since returning.

Sharpshooter Noah Baumann is another wing whose playing time completely varies day-to-day. Isaiah White, Chevez Goodwin, and Max Agbonkpolo also do not seem to have defined roles quite yet. There is nothing wrong with this approach for Enfield, but it is quite unusual to have six or seven guys essentially rotating minutes between them to go along with three indispensable players.

On the bright side of this is the fact that USC has the ability to not be greatly affected if there were to be an injury here down the stretch. Playing eight games in a 21-day stretch is no easy feat, and it’s likely that some guys won’t be 100% in a few of them. This provides the ability to mitigate the time on the court for guys periodically, and keeping legs fresh going into March will be a major plus for the Trojans.