Column: USC’s transformation could include some madness in March

They didn’t slink off, they stalked off, away from a Pac-12 tournament that didn’t knock them out, into an NCAA tournament where they will come out punching.

The USC pep band was blaring, the fingers on their hearty collection of fans were wagging, but the losing Trojans basketball team felt none of it Thursday night as they disappeared into the casino tunnel preparing to double down on this new experience known as March.

“We’re not into moral victories,” said Julian Jacobs.

It was 20 minutes after their 80-72 loss to 12th-ranked Utah in the conference tournament semifinals, and Jacobs was standing in front of his locker still wearing a glare.

Standing next to him was fellow Trojans guard Jordan McLaughlin with a piece of tissue paper stuffed into his bloodied nose.

Together they had combined for 40 points and countless fearless plays in pushing the powerful Utes to the brink, a two-point game with three minutes left, a brawl that ended in a shootout when Utah hit two improbable three-pointers to finish it.

“They’re a good team,” said Trojans Coach Andy Enfield of the Utes, pausing. “So are we.”

These Trojans are close. They’re young, and they’re reckless, but this week’s rout of UCLA and close chase of Utah shows they’re truly close to making some legitimate madness.

“These last couple of games, we figured out how good of a team we really are,” said McLaughlin.

Next week everyone will find out how close when the kids enter the first NCAA tournament for everyone but Nevada Las Vegas transfer Katin Reinhardt. They will probably be seeded eighth or ninth. This would mean they would have to beat a No. 1 seed to make real noise by advancing to the Sweet 16.

Expectations will be low. But the fear factor in opponents should be high.

“I certainly wouldn’t want to play us,” said Enfield, who knows about this stuff, because he once helped Florida Gulf Coast University become the first 15-seeded team to reach the Sweet 16. “We’re very streaky and explosive.”

They were streaky Thursday night when they roared back from a 12-point deficit in the final six minutes with swarming defense and scorching layups, led by McLaughlin’s 20 second-half points.

“We have all the weapons,” said Chimezie Metu, one of the freshmen on a kid roster that will be returning virtually intact next season.

They were explosive Thursday night when they pounded on Jakob Poeltl, the Utes’ Pac-12 player of the year, bumping and bopping the 7-footer into odd frustration, forcing him into four turnovers while refusing to allow him to dominate.

Said Jacobs: “It’s what our coaching staff and the entire community around this team has emphasized — keep fighting.”

A more subtle form of that fight continued in the postgame news conference when Enfield, whose team is 21-12 after going 23-41 in the previous two seasons, openly bristled about questions over his team’s 3-9 record against teams in the top 30 in RPI.

“I like to have 24 or 25 wins, but at the same times, I’m sure all of you sitting there thought we’d have 12 or 13 wins right now,” he said.

Yes, Enfield emphasized curtly, this team has turned the corner.

“We turned quite a few corners,” he said. “In fact, we might be circling right now.”

This USC team is indeed circling a NCAA tournament bid for the first time in five years, circling a first-round game on national television, circling a first-round opponent that will have to match their athleticism and attitude.

“Our coaches tell us to go out there and have fun, nobody expects us to win, nobody expects us to be in this position right now, so there’s no pressure on us at all,” said McLaughlin.

A position that was forever framed in question marks will soon be surrounded by a bracket. The transformation has been real. The journey is just beginning.

Follow Bill Plaschkie on Twitter: @billplaschke