Exhibition win over Gonzaga shows what is possible for USC basketball

The USC basketball team is less than a week away from opening its season, the first under new head coach Eric Musselman. And with a roster that features only one returner, few know what to expect from the Trojans this season.

However, we got an early look at this year's squad on Saturday when the Trojans took on No. 6 Gonzaga in a charity exhibition. Though the game won't count in the standings, USC's 96-93 win served to open some eyes around the country and it showed that the Trojans could have an exciting team in 2024-25.

Of course, neither coach likely went all-out to win the game. Gonzaga played 11 players, far more than the usual number that head coach Mark Few would deploy in a regular-season game. Meanwhile, Musselman sent ten of his players into the fray meaning that both teams utilized the end of their bench more than they are expected to when the games count for something.

However, all but one Gonzaga starter logged over 22 minutes. What's more, Few's three least utilized players each saw five or fewer minutes of action meaning that his primary rotational pieces did log the majority of the minutes in the game.

The point is that USC fans should be excited about the fact that their team went toe to toe with a preseason top-10 team. After all, this is a roster that is still coming together and learning how to play as a connected unit.

With eleven transfers, the Trojans have completely rebuilt their roster over the course of one offseason. While most teams are majoring in the transfer portal these days, that is still an extremely high number of transfers for one program to welcome.

The entire starting five was comprised of transfers. That group, Saint Thomas (a transfer from Northern California), Terrance Williams II (a transfer from Michigan), Josh Cohen (a transfer from UMASS), Chibuzo Agbo (a transfer from Boise State), and Desmond Claude (a transfer from Xavier) combined to account for 76 points and 23 rebounds.

A 6-foot-7 graduate student, Williams led the way with 20 points and three rebounds on 5-7 shooting (4-6 from 3-point range). Meanwhile, a 6-foot-6 junior guard was close behind with 19 points and three boards.

Every starter but Thomas scored in double figures and Thomas was close to hitting that mark with nine points. Additionally, reserve forward Matt Knowling contributed 13 points and five boards off the bench.

Meanwhile, Gonzaga is in a different boat. Few's team returns ten players from last season's Sweet 16 team.

The Bulldogs bring back 81.4% of the minutes played from the 2023-24 roster. That's fifth-most in the country. Additionally, they have three all-conference players returning as well.

Thus, no one would have been shocked to see Gonzaga handle USC in this scrimmage. That didn't happen, though as the Trojans pulled out a close and exciting victory.

Though we can't put too much stock into a scrimmage, we can glean from this game that Musselman has a team that should be competitive right off the bat, and as the season progresses, it could turn into a Big Ten title contender. So get excited for basketball season Trojan fans. The "Muss Bus" is about to depart the station and it could be ready to take us on a very fun ride.