Nineteen days into the month, the USC Trojans are in search of their first win of December. The Trojans look to snap a three-game losing streak Monday night as they host the TCU Horned Frogs at Galen Center. USC fell on Saturday 63-59 to the Georgia Bulldogs and continued their shooting woes of late.
- Against Georgia, USC made 20 of 55 field goals (36.4%)
- Against New Mexico on December 10, USC made 17 of 51 field goals (33.3%)
- Against Minnesota on December 3, USC made 16 of 49 field goals (32.7%)
That's a putrid 34.2% over their last three games, including 28.2% (11 for 39) from three-point range. That has led to just 46.7 points per game in the last three games, all losses.
Whether the reason for the offensive struggles is a tired Maurice Jones - the point guard has played 436 of a possible 450 minutes this season and is shooting just 37.0% from the field on the season - or a lack of a post game - head coach Kevin O'Neill told Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times that center Dewayne Dedmon is "more of a jump shooter than anything. He hasn't developed a post game" - USC needs to solve their offensive woes quickly.
The Trojans (4-7) host TCU and the No. 12 Kansas Jayhawks this week before Christmas, and Pac-12 Conference play begins next week.
TCU (7-3) is led in scoring by a pair of seniors guards. Hank Thorns scores at a clip of 12.5 points per game, while J.R. Cadot averages 11.5 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game this season. This is only the second meeting between the two schools, as USC lost to TCU 81-69 last season in Fort Worth.
Monday night's 7:30 p.m. PST game will not be televised but will be broadcast online at USCTrojans.com. The radio broadcast will be on 690 AM.
For more USC basketball news and information, be sure to read Conquest Chronicles.