Mobley brothers carry USC to a wipeout victory over Kansas in Round 2 of NCAA tournament
J. Brady McCollough (LA Times) — Behind standout play from Isaiah and Evan Mobley, sixth-seeded USC advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007 in a dominating, 85-51 win over third-seeded Kansas in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday. The Trojans shot 57% from the field, and 11 of 18 from the three points.
Five different Trojans scored in double-figures.
Isaiah Mobley finished with 17 points and eight rebounds and Evan Mobley had 10 points and 13 rebounds. Isaiah White finished with 13 points and Tahj Eaddy (above) scored 12 points for USC (24-7).
The Trojans will play Pac-12 rival Oregon in the next round.
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I am hoping this team is getting hot and peaking at the absolute right time. Guys who don’t average double digit points per game did so last night. If Enfield can keep them going he will have shown us all some skills. How many millions of dollars will be added to Evan’s NBA contract with every win in this tournament?
I finally digested all the crow I had to eat and can comment on the game. Simply a high performance team effort at both ends. With this effort, Gonzaga could be in trouble.
I’ll just be glad if we beat ORE, aka the Trojan Killers lately. ✌
Having trashed Andy Enfield in earlier posts, I must now “eat crow.” Last night was the greatest game ever played by a USC Basketball team. The announcer was Grant Hill, a very intelligent and I think trustworthy source. He said that SC was the most impressive team in the first week of the tournament and its drubbing of Kansas the greatest performance so far by any team in the tournament. I have freely admitted I know nothing about basketball. It is obvious that this SC BB is both talented and well-coached. I read a post on another board that Enfield… Read more »
WeAreSC.com (Rich Ruben) — “This USC/KU game was the equivalent of USC’s national championship drubbing of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl behind Matt and Reggie. It’s likely that in the future we will also need only first names to remember Evan and Isaiah.
”This win should give the Trojans a boost in recruiting and in the minds of Southern California sports fans. In a few years we may look back and identify this win as the turning point in Trojans basketball history.“
That would be awesome. Andy should be able to recruit all he needs without going very far. Just recruit off the Compton magic AAU team and you will be just fine.
Good point Chris, whether the team was consistent during the season or not, the team moving to the next round has brought attention to the HS phenoms in SoCal giving Andy a welcome invitation to recruit. It will be interesting to see how his next recruiting class rates.
B/R (Joel Reuter) — NCAA Men’s Tournament 2021: 16 Things to Know Heading into the Sweet 16: USC Is More Than Just Evan Mobley Freshman standout Evan Mobley carried the USC Trojans early in the season. The future lottery pick averaged 16.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocks over the first 21 games, and the Trojans went 18-3 to briefly sneak into the No. 1 seed picture in mid-February. He seemed to run out of gas a bit down the stretch, with his averages dropping to 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks over the team’s final six regular-season games.… Read more »
Last night had to be their best game of the season. 5 guys in double figures, shut down defense. And the best part, they didn’t coast in the second half but continued to pour it on. They will need to play like that the rest of the way. Play like last night and these guys could win 3 more games (that means NCs)!
And you think you got life bad! Try being a kansas Jayhawk basketballer returning to their Lawrence, kansas campus this morning. It is a heckler’s dream: “Hey, Jayhawks, if you played SC 10-games you’d probably lose 11 of them.” “You guys shouldn’t be required to wear face-masks on campus– a hangman’s hood would be better.” “I have a cure for your shooting woes. I’m petitioning the NCAA to widen the basket by 3-feet.” “You ain’t my dad’s Jayhawks.” “Was that Duke you played? North Carolina? Come on, man, that was JUST SC” “You guys range from 6-foot-5 to 6-foot-10 and… Read more »
That was one of the BEST OVERALL DEFENSIVE EFFORTS I have seen in a long time by the Trojans against Kansas, one of college basketball’s Sacred Cows! Most of Kansas’ shots were contested, harassed, momentary hesitation, better not shoot or get blocked by a Mobley or a Goodwin, type of efforts from my perspective. If this team had played defense close to last night against UTAH in Utah and AZ at home and Colorado, we would not have lost those games. We can beat Oregon with this type of effort and strategy next Sunday. I have not watched the 102-0… Read more »
Great to see SC play to its potential with all of the guys contributing to the big win. I know the Mobley brothers will get most of the headlines and deservedly so, but Eaddy, Goodwin, Peterson and Anderson really helped keep the pressure on the Jayhawks. Beating the Ducks and making the Elite 8 would be a great way to lessen the pain felt after losing in Football to them in the PAC-12 Championship Game.
Oh my!
I had to tape the game because it came on too late for my early schedule today. WoW!
Glad I cheated and looked at the score before I got home today!
Fight On! (never “onward,” chairman mao foltie.)
After watching the Tivo of the game last night, I have to agree with a post above that said that was the best played USC Basketball game ever! I hope we have enough lightning left in that bottle 4 more games! Keep the faith and Fight On!
I like your focus ATL, but speaking for myself, all I ask of the Trojan Gods is to beat the Quacks. 😊
I have to agree with TT.
Despite the giant size and length of the Mobley’s, I’m into Baby Steps (super neurotic Bill Murray in What About Bob? immed comes to mind) for this surprising/exhilarating USC team in the NCAAs.
Let’s just beat the freakin’ Ducks, because by ALL accounts, nobody is beating Mark Few’s 28-0 Gonzaga (our next game if we beat ORE) this year.
I think I need to see these unbeatable Bulldogs. They play on CBS at 8:10 AM PT on Sunday vs 22-8 Creighton.
24-7 USC plays 22-6 ORE at 3:45 PT on Sunday (TBS).
Oregon had better not end the BB season too this year.
Fear strikes out! It would be brutal, wouldn’t it? We’re probably not going to have another team as good as this for a while, maybe a long while — if Trojan basketball history is any indication. The Mobley Bros have propelled Trojan hoops to heights I didn’t know even existed for USC under Enfield. Sure would like to see USC beat ORE. Duck Territory — ORE will play against No. 6 seed USC Sunday night in the final game of the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The estimated start time of Sunday night’s game is 6:45 p.m. PT, and… Read more »
OMG — now you did it Allen. “Fear strikes out!” I have not thought of Jimmy Piersall in decades. Gosh, I must be aging faster than I thought. 😃
TT — I wondered if anyone would pick up on my irrelevant mixed metaphor angle about crazy, bipolar Jimmy Piersall, a Red Sox HOFamer, who finished his career with the Angels. For those not familiar with Piersall (his autobiography, made into a movie, is entitled, Fear Strikes Out), per Wiki: On May 24, 1952, just before a game against the New York Yankees, Piersall engaged in a fistfight with Yankee infielder Billy Martin. Following the brawl, Piersall briefly scuffled with teammate Mickey McDermott in the Red Sox clubhouse. After several such incidents, including Piersall spanking the four-year-old son of teammate Vern Stephens in the Red Sox clubhouse… Read more »