USC finalizes schedule for men’s basketball team
USC announced its men’s basketball schedule for the 2018-19 season on Monday. The Trojans, who were left out of the NCAA tournament last season partly because of not having enough quality wins, will hope they don’t run into the same problem this season.
The non-conference schedule should allow for them to build a strong resume. Nevada, which made the Sweet 16 last year and will be a preseason top-25 team this season, visits Galen Center on Dec. 1. The Trojans will be a part of the NABC Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, Mo., on Nov. 19-20. The match-ups haven’t been announced yet, but the Trojans will play two games among a group of Texas Tech, Nebraska and Missouri State. Texas Tech made the Elite Eight last season, while Nebraska played in the NIT.
USC also gets a home game against Vanderbilt on Nov. 11 and plays neutral site games against NCAA tournament teams Texas Christian (Dec. 7 at Staples Center) and Oklahoma (Dec. 15 in Tulsa, Okla.).
As part of the Pac-12 Conference’s unbalanced schedule, USC will play seven teams twice and four teams once. The Trojans host Arizona and Arizona State, which were NCAA tournament teams from last season, but do not play them on the road. That eliminates two potential chances for quality wins that could help them secure a NCAA at-large berth.
USC will play Washington and Washington State on the road but not at home.
Twitter: @BradyMcCollough
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