Eric Musselman details how USC rebounded from UCLA loss to upset Michigan State

USC upset No. 7 Michigan State 70-64 out in LA and head coach Eric Musselman was thrilled with the way the Trojans responded.

Back on Monday, USC fell at home to rival UCLA 82-76 and there were serious questions if USC could handle the pressure of playing the Spartans. Sure, USC is still just 13-8, but it was an important win if we’re looking ahead to USC’s chances in March.

Musselman noted the energy of his team was what stood out for the entire night.

“We talked about our slow start,” Musselman said postgame. “We had a lot of conversations about opportunity and understanding, like there was some loose balls I thought we could have gotten against UCLA. And we talked about those. We showed those. Like, if you’re playing the seventh ranked team and an undefeated team and a team that’s 18-2 and hadn’t lost since late November, you got to exceed the energy of the opponent. I thought that they bought into that.” 

Desmond Claude led the way in scoring with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists. Wesley Yates III added 15 points and five rebounds while Chibuzo Agbo put up 14 points, five rebounds and one assist.

“I mean they practiced super hard for two straight days to the point of, and I don’t think I’ve ever done it to the point of no contact yesterday, and basically a 50 percent walk through yesterday,” Musselman said. “And then we got them up early today and did more preparation, which, (we) usually don’t do that for a 1:00 p.m. game. So some of us were here from pretty early in the morning, even our players. 

“Dez got here well before the shootaround time, and (Chibuzo Agbo), both those guys got here and shot. So a lot of credit just for the focus coming out of the gates, because we knew that you can’t play an 18-2 team and fall behind. If you do and then they go to their bench. So that was something that like, if we didn’t get off to a good start, we probably are going to lose this game by 12 or 14.”

USC is back in action Tuesday on the road when the Trojans take on Northwestern at 9:00 p.m. ET.