No, the start time didn’t cost USC against Stanford

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How often do you see USC playing a 2:05 p.m. basketball game on a Tuesday?

Not very often at all. Yet that’s what the Trojans had to do on Tuesday in a nearly empty Maples clubhouse against Stanford.

The Cardinal got the better of the Trojans with a 75-69 victory, giving USC their first loss of the season.

After Saturday’s game was postponed and moved to Tuesday, the outlook turned cloudier for USC, which faced a brutal game series starting with the Stanford showdown.

It wasn’t going to be easy and the Pac-12 schedule is always grueling. The fact that USC had to play a condensed schedule didn’t help, even though the Trojans faced a similar situation last season.

Still, that’s not a valid excuse to lose this game.

The most confusing part?

USC was leading at halftime and just couldn’t find a way to stop Stanford in the home stretch. The Trojans’ strong defense crumbled when it mattered most, and it cost them the first defeat of the campaign.

Harrison Ingram and Spencer Jones totaled 42 points and dominated USC throughout the game.

Of course, a weird start time might have something to do with USC’s shaky performance, but with COVID-19 influencing games everywhere, teams need to be ready to play anytime, anywhere, whatever the circumstances.

Still, a 13-1 start is nothing to worry about. What would be the reason to get upset: not to learn from this loss.

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