USC Coach Kevin O’Neill puts stop to Trojans’ lackadaisical defense

Kevin O’Neill’s patience had run out. His players had taken the last of it.

Had the USC basketball team played satisfactory defense in losses at Nebraska and Texas Christian, its coach’s short fuse would have remained unlighted. Instead, what O’Neill saw as lack of effort set it afire.

O’Neill met with his players after the TCU loss, to warn them about what was coming. The next practice, the Trojans spent three hours on defense.

“The toughest practice we had all year,” senior guard Marcus Simmons said.

Players ran full bore and hit the floor as their fiery coach shouted and swore them on.

“I just knew, right then, our team changed,” Simmons said.

A few days later, USC played its best defense of the season in an upset of No. 19 Texas, holding the Longhorns to a season-low 56 points — 22.6 below their average.

Simmons keyed the win, holding Texas sophomore Jordan Hamilton to 12 points on four-for-13 shooting.

So now, with USC (5-4) playing Northern Arizona (7-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Galen Center, the question is: Was that a one-time effort or the beginning of a trend?

Last season, O’Neill’s first at USC, the coach’s demand for defense took hold about this same time during an eight-game winning streak, the highlight of which was a 22-point home win Dec. 19 against a Tennessee team ranked No. 8. Consecutive wins followed against Western Michigan, NCAA tournament teams St. Mary’s and Nevada Las Vegas, then Arizona and Arizona State.

In the eight games, USC gave up an average of just 48.4 points, and the Trojans finished the season fifth in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering an average of 57.2.

One aspect that’s paramount for O’Neill is the idea that defense leads to offense.

“Every young player thinks, ‘When things aren’t going well, let’s score some points,’ ” O’Neill said. “Things don’t work that way.”

But after failing to win like that, and succeeding in beating a team such as Texas his way, O’Neill thinks his team gets it.

Freshman Maurice Jones agreed.

“Our defense led to easy layups and open shots,” he said.

For the rest of the season, O’Neill said USC’s practices will be at least 75% defense as he reminds his team that a hard-nosed style offers the best chance of winning.

He began driving that point home during a news conference after the Texas win, when he said USC’s defense was back to being as stingy as it was at this point last season.

“And it’s going to stay right there, I think, isn’t it Al?” O’Neill said to senior forward Alex Stepheson, who sat to his left.

“Definitely,” Stepheson said, smiling.

“Yeah, it is,” O’Neill said straight-faced. “We’re going to keep it right there.”

baxter.holmes@latimes.com