The Trojans Are Going Dancing!

The USC Trojans are the Pac-10 Tournament Champions! Even though they won the title two days ago, it still seems odd to fathom. What a ride it was for USC, winning three games in three days against three very good teams. The way in which they did it was probably the most surprising. The Trojans never trailed in their first two victories, jumping up on Cal early and hanging on, and dominating their rival UCLA. The championship game against ASU was one that will live on in Trojan Basketball lore. Down 15 at the half, the task of coming back looked nearly impossible for the Trojans. Even I, a very optimistic person, thought a comeback was very unlikely. The Trojans were giving the Sun Devils wide open looks on the perimeter and easy dunks inside. On offense, they couldn't figure out the tough zone of ASU. They looked like they had no energy left. Nonetheless, they were somehow able to come out in the second half like a completely different team. It looked like they had all been injected with an IV in the locker room when you saw the energy they were playing with. It was a complete transformation. They used a press defense that they had never worked on and it created four ASU turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half. Down four with a minute left, Dwight Lewis hit the biggest shot of his life, a three from the right corner. Daniel Hackett made two clutch free throws, something he really struggled with during the regular season. Taj Gibson switched onto James Harden and came away with the biggest block of his career. And DeMar DeRozan carried the Trojans throughout the entire tournament, earning the Most Outstanding Player award. DeRozan had a career high 25 points in the championship game. What an incredible tournament run for the USC Trojans. As a reward for their outstanding effort, they get to go to the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans are a 10 seed and will face Boston College in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Minneapolis on Friday. I am very excited because I get to travel to the game with the USC Band. Hopefully, this magical run will continue. The way the Trojans are playing now, I wouldn't doubt it. Much more analysis to come throughout the week on the Trojans match up as well as the rest of the NCAA field. Fight On!