Unranked USC basketball will look to rebound from its largest margin of defeat in Galen Center history Saturday, as it travels to Springfield, Mass., to take part in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at the MassMutual Center. But a win will be anything but a formality, as the Trojans are set to face an undefeated Bradley team that returns four starters and nine letterman from a team that had a strong showing in conference play a season ago.
In many ways, however, 'SC has its own set of issues to attend to.
During the team's 77-57 home loss to Rider on Wednesday, the Trojans allowed the visiting Broncs to shoot 60 percent from the field, and en even higher 63.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, while making just 37.7 percent of its field goal attempts and one of its 15 3-pointers.
It was a far cry from Monday's showing against Santa Clara, in which it amassed 86 points, while freshman point guard Maurice Jones and junior forward Nikola Vucevic finished with 29 and 22 points respectively.
But fatigue may be reason enough for some of the team's recent issues, after playing three home games in a five-day span.
Presently, though, they remain just three games into a stretch of eight games in 17 days, the most games they have had in a 17-day period since the 1983-1984 season.
For more information on USC hoops, check out the SB Nation blog Conquest Chronicles.