It’s a year of change for the USC Trojans as they prepare to embark on their inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference. Like the other new teams to the league in Oregon, Washington, and arch-rival UCLA, the Trojans have plenty to adjust. However, USC has the biggest change as they will be under a new coach. Eric Musselman moved from Arkansas and the SEC to USC and the Big Ten.
Add in the loss of almost every key contributor from the 23-24 team with plenty of talent, but couldn’t do anything finishing the final year of the PAC-12 with a 15-18 overall record snapping a three-year NCAA tournament streak. Flashforward and Musselman seems to have already rebuilt the team to his liking adding plenty of talent from the transfer portal.
The roster outlook is very different for the 2024-25, but USC has a guy that can turn the program around and it will be interesting to see how they perform in USC’s Big Ten debut season. Let’s look at what the Trojans could be in store for in their first season.
USC Big Ten Basketball Debut Season Could Be Tough
Musselman made stripping his shirt off famous with the Razorbacks, but he will have to have a learning period with the Trojans, as they enter a Big Ten that honestly looks like it is going to be another grinder of a season. The Big Ten has long been very competitive, where all the teams on any night could go out and win games.
When Musselman was first introduced as the new head man for the Trojans after the departure of Andy Enfield, Musselman had plenty of appreciation for what Enfield had done for USC and was eager to tackle the new challenge of the Big Ten. Musselman spoke with Beth Harris from the Associated Press, about the challenges ahead for him and the new-look Trojans.
“I knew right away it was something of great interest,” Musselman said of the USC job. “We think the potential here is through the roof, Coach Enfield did great things for 11 years here. We want to continue to do things that he’s done and try to build on some of those things as well.”
He’s going to have a big challenge ahead of him, especially with what was left of the roster before he started making work in the transfer portal.
Roster Overhaul Presents Major Challenge
USC is going to have growing pains with a whole new roster. They had to replace all of their scoring, which was led by primarily young players as Isaiah Collier went to the NBA along with Bronny James, and the Trojans’ most experienced player Boogie Ellis is also off to the pros. Add in the departure of Kobe Johnson who transferred across town to UCLA. But that hasn’t stopped Musselman from completely overhauling the roster, as he did plenty of work in the portal himself.
USC was able to grab a good amount of players who are going to have to contribute right away, including Desmond Claude who was the Big East Most Improved Player during the 2023-24 season he joins the Trojans from Xavier. He wasn’t the only big grab by Musselman and company as they were also able to grab a very experienced Big Ten player in former Michigan Wolverine Terrance Williams II.
Welcome to the #TrojanFamily, @_flyyt!
The DMV native is bringing Big Ten experience to our squad. pic.twitter.com/6LYoeaONTG
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) May 23, 2024
Williams is coming off the most productive season of his career, where he averaged over 12 points per game for the Wolverines. He has long been a question mark in terms of his points production, but perhaps joining USC will give him one final year to break out. USC had a massive roster overhaul, and they likely will have troubles in the first season of Musselman, but don’t count the guy out to get the Trojans back on track.
Enjoy The Sunshine in Southern California Big Ten Teams
The schedule of games for USC in its first Big Ten Basketball season is pretty favorable with some of the league’s more historic programs having to make the trip out west. Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin will have to travel out west. USC Basketball’s X page shared a glimpse at their Big Ten home foes.
We’ve got some B1G time conference games on deck at Galen. pic.twitter.com/0vJwOEeHuY
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) May 13, 2024
As for their road schedule in league play, gear up for some tough road games to Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Rutgers. They get to play their fellow new members of the league twice at home and on the road against the Ducks, Huskies, and Bruins, but the schedule for the Trojans isn’t going to be easy. That’s just the new normal in the Big Ten.
Realistic Expectations for Year One
The Big Ten is a dogfight, and USC has a whole new roster, so that is going to impact what the Trojans are going to be in 2024-25. They aren’t going to be the worst team in the Big Ten, but to faithfully believe they can compete for the top of the league in the first season, would be a longshot. Musselman is a good coach, and he will get it figured out. Just not this first season. Middle of the pack seems like a hopeful accomplishment for USC in Year One of the Big Ten.
