Thunder Heating Up With Trojan Showdown for Title Champs' Season!

The USC men’s basketball team clearly fell short of expectations this season, but a lot of that can be credited to the misfortune that they had with injuries. At the beginning of the season, Rodney Rice was the star for the Trojans . After he suffered a season-ending injury, it was Chad Baker-Mazara who was consistently the guy that USC needed.

Alijah Arenas looked like a star in February, but USC just could not get all three players on the court at the same time. Even after this year's disappointment, head coach Eric Musselman still remains excited for what is to come. A recent tweet from Shotgun Spratling of 247Sports highlighted Musselman's mindset after the went Trojans one-and-done in the Big Ten Tournament.

" #USC HC Eric Musselman said he can't wait to get started on next year's team, starting when he gets back home tonight,” Spratling wrote. It was a sad end to the season for the Trojans, as they lost seven straight games to close the regular season and were a one-and-done team in the Big Ten Tournament. This team had talent, but there was not enough time that the team's talent got to all play together on the court at the same time.

While Baker-Mazara is obviously gone, if Trojans can retain Arenas and Rice, that is a duo that should create excitement for next season. This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men’s basketball could not overcome tough obstacles this season