Southern California vies to keep Big Ten tournament hopes alive vs. Washington

With first-year coaches and nearly all-new rosters, it was going to be a transition year for Southern California and Washington no matter what.

Add in the move from the Pacific-12 Conference to the Big Ten and the issues have been compounded.

The Trojans (14-15, 6-12 Big Ten), who play host to the Huskies (13-16, 4-14) on Wednesday night, have lost five games in a row and are tied with Iowa for 15th place in the 18-team conference. Only 15 teams get to play in the league's postseason tournament -- and USC holds the tiebreaker over the Hawkeyes due to their 99-89 home victory against Iowa Jan. 14.

"I mean, we stand where our record says we stand," Trojans coach Eric Musselman said. "You see where we are in the standings."

The Trojans, who finish the regular season Saturday against rival UCLA at Pauley Pavilion, are led by Desmond Claude, who averages 15.5 points per game.

The teams met Dec. 7 in Seattle with the Trojans winning 85-61 as Claude led a balanced attack with 20 points. Wesley Yates III, who transferred to USC after sitting out last season at Washington, added 19 points.

The Huskies have lost four in a row and are in last place. They were eliminated from the Big Ten tournament race Saturday with a 78-62 home loss to Indiana as leading scorer Great Osobor (14.5 ppg) was held without a field goal and managed just four points.

The Huskies will finish with a losing record for the first time since the 2020-21 season.

"I told our team we got 80 minutes left and we got to compete," said first-year Huskies coach Danny Sprinkle, whose team closes its season Sunday against visiting Oregon. "You always got to compete for the name on the front of the jersey, but in moments like this, these are some character moments."

"You got to play a little bit for the name on the back of the jersey, too. ... We got to play harder. We got to show that we're a better team."

--Field Level Media