The USC Men's basketball team suffered another lopsided loss against a conference opponent, this time falling to the California Golden Bears 87-65. The loss marked the third in a row for the Trojans, and fifth of the last 6 games.
After getting off to a hot start led by Nikola Jovanovic, the Trojans (19-10, 8-8 in Pac-12) found themselves tied at 26 with 8 minutes to play in the first half.
From that point on, it was all Cal. The Bears (21-8, 11-5) outscored USC 18-4 to close out the half, holding the Trojans scoreless for over 6 minutes, en route to a 44-30 halftime lead. Very little changed in the second half, as the Bears stretched their lead out to 28 points in front of their home crowd.
This game did little to encourage USC fans, as they were dominated on both sides of the ball yet again. The team had more turnovers (12) than assists (10), and shot only 40% from the field, albeit against the best defense in the Pac-12. These are not good signs for a team that started off the season 15-3 and looked to make a run come March.
The Golden Bears finished off an undefeated season at home, and have won 7 games in a row. Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown led Cal with 18 points apiece, while Jabari Bird and Tyrone Wallace added 12 each. Jovanovic had 21 points and 9 boards for the Trojans, and Julian Jacobs scored 11.
USC finishes off its season with games against Oregon and Oregon State, both at the Galen Center, before it readies itself for the Pac-12 tournament.