Expectations game
With a 15-9 record, USC really is not in a different position than anticipated from Day 1 by Coach Tim Floyd. With a young team (class wise, not age wise), he expected struggles in the Pac-10. But the real problem here would be the expectations game and if the Trojans fail to make the NCAA Tournament in the O.J. Mayo era, that would be a problem.
USC still is positioned to make the NCAA Tournament, but Billy Packer's quote continues to resonate, so we'll run it again.
``This may make all the recruiting experts angry but Mayo is a good player, he is not a great player . . . he could be a good player. He is not a great player.''
Agreed. I'd have to say the one disappointment this year (other than injuries) has been the play of Mayo. After all the hype he received out of high school (baby Kobe, anyone?), he has proved to be not even the best player on the team. You'd be hard pressed to find a worse-played game for any Div I starter than the stinker Mayo put up against UCLA.
Luckily, the team defense has been better than expected, which is why we are still in the thick of things despite the disappointment of Mayo.
ESPN Bracketology has USC as a #8 seed today. If they play .500 ball down the stretch and win a P-10 tourney game they should be in with 19-20 wins.
It's imperative they sweep the Oregons at home for starters...
T&T, I agree that your scenario is possible, but cutting it very, very close. If we only go 3-3 in the last 6, then we likely finish in a tie for 5th or 6th in conference. Meaning, we will have a match-up with WSU or Zona if we are lucky, and could find ourselves losing a tiebreaker and being forced into the play-in for UCLA or Stanford. Now, with Hack, I like our chances for a run in the PAc-10 tourney. But, without him, we are in trouble if we have to win 1 game against a top 4 PAc-10 team in the tourney to advance to the NCAAs. It is certainly possible, but the path of least resistance is to defend the home court and finish 10-8 in conference, obtaining a definite invite to the dance regardless of what happens in the post-season conference tourney.