Evan Mobley Tunes Up For Kansas

Whicker: Against USC’s Evan Mobley, Drake couldn’t find a lane to stay in

The freshman’s post defense had much to do with USC’s first-round victory Saturday

DRAKE defenders surround Evan Mobley, but they couldn’t contain him, as either a shooter, or defender.

Mark Whicker (OC Register)  —  Paint removal is not the most fun aspect of spring cleaning. In that sense, USC and Galen Center are fortunate.

They don’t need a heat gun or sandpaper. They don’t even have to wander through the forbidding aisles of your favorite big-box store, in search of a remedy.

They have Evan Mobley.

They will not have him long, but they’ve known that all season. On Saturday, the freshman vaporized the lane and took away Darnell Brodie, who goes 6-foot-10, 270. Mobley stripped away the paint so effortlessly that his fellow Trojans joined in, and eventually Drake was reduced to long-range bombing, which worked in the first half of this NCAA tournament first-round game but dissipated in the second.

USC wound up handling the tricky 6 vs. 11 matchup better than most, winning 72-56, and will graduate to a matchup with Kansas on Monday.

Brodie, a transfer from Seton Hall, missed 10 of 13 shots, and most of those misses were persuaded by either Evan or his brother Isaiah or Chevez Goodwin. Only 16 of Drake’s 56 points came in the lane, and only 12 of Drake’s 20 baskets came from someone other than Joseph Yesufu, who had 18 in the first half but was 2-for-10 in the second.

At one point the Bulldogs clunked 22 of 24 attempts, including nine of nine 3-pointers. But Mobley established the theme.

The obvious game plan is to nudge him into foul trouble, which is usually accomplished through head and ball fakes. Mobley has learned to keep his feet on the ground but even when he doesn’t, he is able to land without violating anyone’s airspace, and he never compromises his wingspan.

He is a “big” who plays big, in other words, and that is not an everyday sight in modern college basketball.

“He’s improved every week,” said coach Andy Enfield. “He has guarded physical bigs, athletic bigs, bigs with a lot of skill. And he’s able to put pressure on them offensively too.”

Mobley has played 1,020 minutes this season. He has committed only 53 fouls. The list of post defenders who have more blocks (90) and assists (76) than fouls is not a long one.

“In the college game, there are a lot more details on defense,” Mobley said. “I just try to use what the coaches teach me. I have a tendency to get jumpy at times. If I stay down I can still contest the shot if not block it.”

Five USC players combined for seven blocks, which doesn’t account for all the shots influenced, redirected or simply discouraged. One of those blocks came in the final minute from Joshua Morgan, the transfer from Long Beach State, and might have been Enfield’s way of reminding people that he has more paint-removal tools after Mobley gets away.

Max Agbonkpolo, the 6-foot-8 sophomore from Santa Margarita, is known as a potential scorer. He couldn’t resist the reject-a-thon either. He went high to try to block one dunk, although he was whistled for a foul.

“I thought he was outstanding, especially in our zone,” Enfield said. “He was very active. He’s got long arms and a great first-step. When we went to zone, he was in the game for a reason.”

As Enfield mentioned, it was reasonable to expect Drake to laugh now, cry later, due to its Thursday night First Four win over Wichita State. The Bulldogs had one night of recovery, and USC’s previous game was a Pac-12 tournament loss to Colorado eight days prior.

The game also demonstrated how USC can prosper if even one secondary scorer shows up. In this game it was Drew Peterson, who got to the hoop against Drake’s smaller guards and scored 14 on 5-of-10 shooting.

And it was another case of the Trojans overcoming their own free-throwing, which, in this game, was 8-for-15.

“It’s frustrating when good free-throw shooters miss,” Enfield said, “but we’re actually pretty good except for a couple of guys (Isaiah Mobley and Chevez Goodwin), and they’re improving.

“Tonight Evan was 2-for-4. But I wasn’t going to take him out.”

Kansas, which finally shook off Eastern Washington’s challenge, will be a tougher project. David McCormick is a 6-foot-10, 265-pound strongman who scored 22 on Eastern Washington.

But the Jayhawks have been plagued by COVID-19 in the short term and an investigation into what NCAA officials called “egregious” recruiting crimes in the long term. They haven’t lived up to their brand this season, and they gave up 35 points to EWU center Tanner Groves on Saturday.

A win would give USC a Final 16 appearance. It hasn’t done that in 14 years. The older the paint, the harder the scrape.

ocregister.com

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John Weld
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Noble Genius
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March 22, 2021 9:21 pm

Yahoo Sports: USC entered the NCAA tournament boasting the Pac-12’s most efficient defense. When it brought an offense to match, Kansas didn’t stand a chance. USC smothered Kansas on both sides of the floor Monday, handing the Jayhawks their worst-ever NCAA tournament loss, 85-51. Their previous worst effort was a 60-42 loss to Indiana in the 1940 national title game.  The win caps a dominant weekend for the Pac-12, which sends four of its five entrants in the tournament to the Sweet 16. USC joins UCLA, Oregon and Oregon State in the tournament’s second weekend. Only Colorado, which lost to… Read more »

San Diego Trojan
March 22, 2021 9:01 pm

I’m more than happy to be thought of as a Basketball school for awhile. Very proud of our guys for the dominating performance. About as perfect effort as you can ask for. Beating Oregon next week, to reach the Elite 8, will make up for the football fiasco

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 8:47 pm

Dick Vitale

@DickieV

Tip of the hat to @USC_Hoops
& ANDY ENFIELD with their dominating performance vs Kansas 85-51 ! WOW the @Pac12
stock going uptown .

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 8:45 pm

85-51 ………Better than I thought it would be ………FIGHT ON !!!!!

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 8:40 pm

Kansas putting in their seniors from the bench ?

Terrific Tommy
March 22, 2021 8:50 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Damn it Allen — I gave a client of mine in Wichita Kansas and 35. I need to stop betting — I thought I had a lock. 😎

Steveg
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March 22, 2021 8:37 pm

Looks like Pac12 owns the Sweet 16. Nice for a change.

Steveg
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Steveg
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March 22, 2021 8:35 pm

Play like this for 2 more games and USC goes to the Final Four which proves me wrong, but I am good with it. Great production as a team tonight, even the back court putting points up.

John Weld
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March 22, 2021 8:34 pm

30 point lead with 5 minutes left. Hope you are watching!

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 8:29 pm

Top headline in sports section in LA Times in the morning ? ……….USC BASKETBALL !……FIGHT ON !!!!!

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 8:23 pm

Nice passing !!!…………FIGHT ON !!!!!

John Weld
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March 22, 2021 8:16 pm

Way too many commercials….

Steveg
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March 22, 2021 8:35 pm
Reply to  John Weld

John, they are always the same ones over and over.

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 7:49 pm

My man Wally Szczerbiak on CBS Halftime ( He does every Knick game ) liking what he is seeing from PAC-12 .

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 7:46 pm

Keep bringing it in the second half SC ……..FIGHT ON !!!!!

Chris
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Chris
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March 22, 2021 7:36 pm

wow, couldn’t expect any better

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 7:35 pm

People all over the USA saying ?…….”There is a Conference called the Pac-12 ” ? ……… (like they never heard of it )…….FIGHT ON !!!!!

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 7:27 pm

Make these last 3 minutes of the first half your best part of the 1st half SC ! ………..FIGHT ON !!!!!

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 7:14 pm

Free throws arggggg.

Chris
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Chris
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March 22, 2021 7:12 pm

We need better guard play. They are much better than we are in backcourt.

John Weld
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March 22, 2021 6:59 pm

Wow, this has been an intense 8 minutes. We are playing aggressive defense and getting rebounds.

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 6:43 pm

Time for a guy named Mobley to show (maybe millions of tv viewers) why he should be the first player taken in the next NBA Draft ………FIGHT ON !!!!!

Chris
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Chris
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March 22, 2021 6:53 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Surprised, especially with how poor Wright played.

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 6:00 pm

Wow ……… The USC Basketball game is on over-the-air network TV here in NY Metro area (Which in this neck of the wood always leads to a larger viewing audience) ……FIGHT ON !!!!!

HOF19
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March 22, 2021 3:37 pm

My Giants fans family members will be asking me Questions about Adoree pretty soon >>>>> Adam Schefter

@AdamSchefter
· 31m
Former Titans’ CB Adoree Jackson reached agreement today on a three-year, $39 million deal with the New York Giants, per sources.

John Weld
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March 22, 2021 2:33 pm

USC went from 1.5 favorite to a 1 point underdog in the last 3 hours.

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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March 22, 2021 3:53 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

Kansas is one of those flagship basketball programs even though they may have been down the last few years in the Big-12. They usually have a well coached team that doesn’t beat itself. Just depends if Trojan players are getting some good bounces and can’t make too many mistakes. PAC-12 has been unbelievable the first round. We will find out soon who is hot and who is not.

LawyerJohn
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March 22, 2021 1:35 pm

An aspect of Elgin’s game lives through me to this day. When dribbling in a full-court game, I will cock my head back and forth, just like the master showed me.

San Diego Trojan
March 22, 2021 11:51 am

RIP Elgin Baylor. His game was LeBron-like, and he was never given his due as an all time great. Class act and a true gentleman

San Diego Trojan
March 22, 2021 12:12 pm

…..and his greatest feat may have been working for Donald Sterling for 22 years

Jamaica
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Jamaica
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March 22, 2021 3:46 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

That was Elgin’s signature move; to hang in the air like no one else.

San Diego Trojan
March 22, 2021 11:34 am

Gotta say I’m kinda shocked Oregon beat a very good Iowa team by 15. Pac12 not just squeezing by, but kicking butt. How great would it be if SC plays to potential and beats Kansas to face Oregon in the sweet 16. It’s no stretch to think that the conference could have 4-5 of the final 16. Colorado matches up good with Florida St, and the Bruins got the benefit of the upset to Texas. Fun to see after being down so long

LawyerJohn
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March 22, 2021 10:29 am

Writer Plaschke’s pro-SC basketball article yesterday stating the Trojans had a good chance of making the Final-4, had sugar plums and lollipops dancing in my head.

I mean, all Our Boys have to do is beat Kansas, beat a Sweet-16 team and then beat the tar out of Gonzaga– and presto, SC is in.

Actually, I would settle for a win against Kansas after 7 straight losses to those Jayhawks.

San Diego Trojan
March 21, 2021 9:49 pm

Way to go PAC12! Oregon St double digit win! Whoa Nellie! Keep it going

Chris
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Chris
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March 21, 2021 12:23 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

It’s going to be a real challenge, they are able to match our size. Eaddy will have to play great. I still think we win

Chris
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Chris
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March 21, 2021 2:54 pm
Reply to  Allen Wallace

i love the tourney no matter what, but it’s way more fun to watch our guys in it.