After USC men's basketball fell to Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament last month, we thought that the Trojans' season was over. As it turns out, however, we were wrong, as USC later accepted an invitation to play in the first ever College Basketball Crown postseason tournament in Las Vegas.
After blowing out Tulane in their first round game on Tuesday night, the Trojans took on Villanova in the second round Thursday. This time, however, the result was different, as USC dropped a 60-59 heartbreaker.
Saint Thomas and Rashaun Agee both came up big for the Trojans. Thomas had 23 points and 13 rebounds, while Agee had 22 and seven, respectively. However, USC was unable to overcome Villanova star Eric Dixon, who had a game-high 28 points.
With the loss, the Trojans' season now comes to an end—for real, this time. As we have mentioned in the past, it is hard to pin too much of this year on head coach Eric Musselman, as he arrived on campus last April and did not have much time to put together a roster. Now that USC's season is over, however Musselman can focus on attacking the transfer portal and recruiting in order to ensure that the Trojans have a much better roster next year than they did in 2024-2025.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men's basketball season ends with narrow loss to Villanova
