Andy Enfield explains where USC goes after Auburn loss

After a 5-2 start, USC has dropped their last three matchups with no wins to show in December so far. With that being the case, Andy Enfield is circling one area where his team must improve in order to snap their skid.

Enfield spoke about how his Trojans can get back on track during his postgame conference after they lost their third-straight game in a 91-75 defeat at Auburn. For all the growth they still need to do, he noted defense as something they must fix as the season continues. That starts with their experienced players which he hopes will trickle down to his youth in the lineup.

“We have to be better defensively,” said Enfield. “We’ve been so good defensively the last four years, best field-goal percentage defense in the country over a four-year period. But we’re just not there yet.

“We’ve got some young players that are playing a lot of minutes that need to improve defensively. Our veterans have to play like veterans.”

Over USC’s first 10 games, they have allowed 74.5 points per game as a Top-60 unit in defensive efficiency per KenPom. That was good enough early on considering how well they have been scoring the ball on offense.

However, over their last four, the Trojans have allowed their most points of the season in each of the four. It started against Eastern Washington, a game they won by 28 after scoring a season-high of 106 themselves, where they allowed 78.

Then, in the three-game losing streak to Gonzaga, Long Beach State, and Auburn, they’ve given up 89, 84, and 91 respectively for an average of 88 points a game. The Bulldogs, Beach, and Tigers have shot a combined 47.3% from the field and 41.4% from distance in those wins over USC.

As they now sit at .500, USC has to go get one in the win column. If they can take better care of their business on that side of the ball, Enfield believes they can make that step tonight in their second game in Alabama against the Hornets.

“We take a bus to Montgomery tonight, play Alabama State on Tuesday,” said Enfield. “That’s where we go from here. We’re developing as a team and, hopefully, we can keep improving.”

Enfield encourages patience with Bronny James

Bronny James made his second appearance in USC’s 91-75 loss to Auburn on Sunday.

Even so, Andy Enfield preached patience with the freshman.

“As I said, he has improved. But it’s a little unfair to him to be judging him every possession right now,” Enfield said. “He has come back and it was good minutes tonight, played very hard, he was more comfortable. He’s a freshman and he has been out for five months. Very, very challenging for him. But we anticipate he will be a much better player by the middle of the season than he is now.”

Bronny James finished the loss against Auburn with five points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. James’ played a total of 30 minutes in two games this season.