On a four-game losing streak, Nebraska returns to the comforts of home to face Southern California on Wednesday in Lincoln, Neb., although even that safe space has been breached of late.
The Cornhuskers (12-6, 2-5 Big Ten) saw their 20-game home winning streak come to an end Thursday in an 85-82 loss to Rutgers despite 21 points from Brice Williams and 20 from Juwan Gary.
Nebraska then hit the road and fell 69-66 at Maryland on Sunday, when Williams scored 14 points but Gary was held to six. Andrew Morgan led the Cornhuskers with a season-best 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Ahron Ulis had a career-best 10 assists.
Morgan and Gary each reached the 1,000-point mark in their careers. Gary (11.7 points per game) is Nebraska’s No. 2 scorer behind Williams (18.6).
Nebraska went on a late 9-0 run to tie Maryland 66-all with 1:02 remaining on a pair of Williams free throws, but Ulis had a turnover and Connor Essegian missed a 3-pointer over the final minute.
The Cornhuskers’ streak of 36 consecutive victories while holding opponents below 70 points came to an end.
“I didn’t see a lot of head-hanging and we played hard that game, we just didn’t play with the toughness that we needed,” coach Fred Hoiberg said Tuesday.
USC (11-7, 3-4) enters after an 84-69 home loss against then-No. 24 Wisconsin on Saturday. The defeat left the Trojans 1-2 against ranked teams this season, with all three of those games in Big Ten play. USC earned an 82-72 victory at then-No. 13 Illinois on Jan. 11.
The Trojans’ Saint Thomas scored 19 points against Wisconsin, while Rashaun Agee added 15 off the bench. They were unable to overcome the Badgers’ 56.4 percent shooting, while turning the ball over 16 times.
USC is 2-1 in true road games this season, but 2-3 when adding in neutral-court contests. Desmond Claude’s 16.0 ppg lead five Trojans in double-figure scoring.
“We have to figure out how to get ready on the road, which we have for the most part,” Trojans head coach Eric Musselman said. “I think we’ve done a good job taking the opposing team’s home crowd out of it.”
The game will be a matchup of former NBA head coaches. Musselman guided the Golden State Warriors (2002-04) and Sacramento Kings (2006-07), while Hoiberg was at the helm of the Chicago Bulls (2015-19).
–Field Level Media
