NCAA bracket 2017: USC will play Providence in the first four for the right to play SMU

The USC Trojans are returning to the NCAA tournament in the first four in Dayton, Ohio. USC Men’s basketball will be an 11 seed to face the Providence Friars. The winner will take on the SMU Mustangs. USC is scheduled to tip off at 6:10pm pt on Wednesday March 15th on TruTv.

Things got a little dicey for USC’s tournament hopes in February after a 4-game losing streak dropped them to a bubble team according to most projections. The Trojans, however, bounced back by going 3-1 in March thus solidifying their spot in the NCAA Tournament. Starting the season at 14-0 also helped buttress their tournament resume. After one of the best starts for the Trojans in decades, they stumbled to a 10-9 record to close out the second half of their season.

This is Andy Enfield’s fourth season as the USC Trojans head basketball coach, and the second year in a row that USC has made the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Trojans went to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons was under coach Tim Floyd when USC went to the dance in 2007, 2008, and 2009. Though officially because of the O.J. Mayo sanctions the last time it happened according to the record books was under coach Henry Bibby who took his team to the tournament in 2001 and 2002.

Last season the Trojans were eliminated in the first round of the NCAA tournament by the Providence Friars during a last second heart breaker of a finish. The Trojans get another shot at the Friars this year.