It has been an up-and-down season plagued by injuries for the USC Trojans. They have put some different lineups on the court on a nightly basis, due to the devastating injuries they have faced this season. Alijah Arenas has given the Trojans a great amount of hope recently, but what could have been with a healthy squad for USC this season?
In a recent tweet, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein drew attention to how good the USC Trojans would be if they did not hit the injury bug. Here are his thoughts on the Trojans' obstacles this season:
"I’ll say it again:
USC would have a Sweet 16 caliber roster if it was fully healthy with Rodney Rice and Chad Baker-Mazara.
And Alijah Arenas? Averaging 26 PPG in his last three games."
Alijah Arenas has had an amazing stretch of three games recently. He has looked every bit of a star, and he has won games for USC by himself. He had a game-winner against Penn State last Sunday and 29 points vs Indiana to pull off that win. He is getting comfortable, and he is able to get to his spots with ease now. Maybe the opportunity for him to fully shine with the injuries has created his recent scoring surge, but it is hard not think how good USC would be with all of their scorers healthy.
Rodney Rice, before his devastating injury, was averaging 20 points per game in the first 6 games of the season. He looked promed to be one of the best guards in the Big Ten. A backcourt featuring him and Arenas would rival any backcourt in the country.
Chad Baker-Mazara going down has also been a tough blow, as he was a reliable scorer who could score 20 on any given night. The experienced transfer was averaging 18.3 points per game. He, next to Arenas and Rice, would have been enough scoring to propel USC right at the top of the conference with other top teams like Purdue and Iowa.
The Trojans, instead of having all their scorers together sharing the court, have just managed to have one elite scorer on the court at a time. To start the season, it was Rice; at the midway point, it was Baker-Mazara; and now it has been Alijah Arenas.
Still with all of the obstacles, the Trojans have managed to be 18-7 with still an outside chance to make the tournament. It will take more great performances from Arenas and some other USC Trojan players to achieve that feat. Yet there still is a chance. The Trojans this season will still remain one of the biggest what-if stories.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Injuries have hindered luckless USC men's basketball this season