The last time USC played on its home floor, more than three weeks ago, the tone of the Trojans’ season felt decidedly different. They were 12-1, ranked in the top 25. Everything seemed to be looking up.
By the time they’d returned in the new year, that picture looked far more bleak. Two blowout losses in Michigan and a narrow overtime escape from Minnesota had made clear how tenuous the Trojans’ early success had been. Then the timeline for star freshman Alijah Arenas’ return was pushed back indefinitely, another foreboding sign in a season filled with them.