NCAA Tournament March Madness
#28 USC
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Projected seed: 3
USC sits where it does because a potent offense and a trio of neutral-site wins over Boise State, Seton Hall and Arizona State provide the kind of quality the committee rewards while blowout wins over Cal Poly and Manhattan offer little résumé lift and the squeaker against Troy exposes vulnerability. Defensive inconsistency has limited upside so far and the absence of a signature road victory leaves the resume reliant on upcoming tests. Road trips to Michigan, Michigan State and UCLA and big conference dates against the likes of Purdue and Illinois are clear opportunities to turn promise into proof, so the current placement reflects a balance between solid neutral wins already in the book and tangible chances to erase the doubts those narrow results have created.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | Cal Poly | 224 | W94-64 |
| 11/9 | Manhattan | 314 | W114-83 |
| 11/14 | (N)Illinois St | 120 | W87-67 |
| 11/20 | Troy | 128 | W107-106 |
| 11/24 | (N)Boise St | 57 | W70-67 |
| 11/25 | Seton Hall | 61 | W83-81 |
| 11/26 | (N)Arizona St | 86 | W88-75 |
| 12/2 | @Oregon | 82 | 62% |
| 12/6 | Washington | 52 | 74% |
| 12/9 | @San Diego | 247 | 92% |
| 12/14 | Washington St | 163 | 95% |
| 12/17 | UT San Antonio | 220 | 97% |
| 12/21 | Brown | 258 | 98% |
| 1/2 | @Michigan | 1 | 12% |
| 1/5 | @Michigan St | 18 | 31% |
| 1/9 | @Minnesota | 107 | 72% |
| 1/13 | Maryland | 94 | 84% |
| 1/17 | Purdue | 2 | 32% |
| 1/21 | Northwestern | 47 | 71% |
| 1/25 | @Wisconsin | 25 | 38% |
| 1/28 | @Iowa | 21 | 36% |
| 1/31 | Rutgers | 140 | 92% |
| 2/3 | Indiana | 20 | 57% |
| 2/8 | @Penn St | 100 | 69% |
| 2/11 | @Ohio St | 31 | 41% |
| 2/18 | Illinois | 14 | 46% |
| 2/21 | Oregon | 82 | 81% |
| 2/24 | @UCLA | 34 | 42% |
| 2/28 | Nebraska | 40 | 68% |
| 3/4 | @Washington | 52 | 53% |
| 3/7 | UCLA | 34 | 64% |