michigan

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where it’s officially team-building season across college basketball. It’s a critical time for any program in the transfer portal era. But for Eric Musselman and USC this April, it’s especially paramount.

The last two springs, Musselman has had to rebuild USC’s entire roster essentially from scratch. The coach’s first two teams each had just one carryover from the previous year. Two years ago, just as USC was joining the Big Ten, Musselman had to make over the roster in May … a month after everyone else. Then last spring, he lost his top two scorers (Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates) somewhat unexpectedly — one on the very last day of the portal.

This offseason, Musselman is starting from a more stable place. USC announced last week that guard Rodney Rice, who was expected to be USC’s best player a year ago, will return next season. He’s a future NBA player. Forward Jacob Cofie should be back after dipping his toes in the NBA draft waters, along with 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes. Then there are three top-25 recruits on the way in Darius and Adonis Ratliff and Christian Collins.

It’s looking more and more likely, too, that Alijah Arenas will buck his long-standing plans to declare for the draft and return to college. Whether that would be at USC or somewhere else, however, remains to be seen.

Whatever happens, there is at least a semblance of a nucleus for USC to build around this spring. Which is fortunate for Musselman, given there will be less means to lure players from the portal.

At this time last year, NIL spending had yet to be capped. So Musselman and his staff were given a significant chunk of change to work with, a number nearing eight figures. And they used it to pay up for the likes of not just Rice, Chad Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar, but also reserves such as Dynes, Jordan Marsh and Ryan Cornish. The reasoning was to pay a bit above-market to build the team Musselman wanted, to take advantage of their limited window with Arenas, who they hoped would be a program catalyst.

The return on that investment was … less than stellar. Arenas got into a car accident, then had knee surgery, and didn’t play until January. Baker-Mazara, the highest-paid player on the roster, was dismissed from the team before the end of the season. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. But also, many of the bets USC made went belly-up.

This time, the budget won’t be quite as bottomless, both because of NIL restrictions and as a matter of course correction. The approach will have to be more conservative, more targeted. Considering the portal isn’t getting any cheaper, with most starters now going for north of $1 million, it’ll be on Musselman to use his funds expeditiously.

That means, presumably, much less spending on the middle of the roster. It’s part of why Amarion Dickerson isn’t returning, even though USC would’ve presumably welcomed him back. There’s no room to spend up on a sixth man at the moment. Especially one who sat out most of last season.

A lot of basketball programs are reckoning with those realities now that spending is, in some sense, more capped. But many of those programs have a general manager handling those matters. At USC, that’s Musselman. He’s the coach and GM.

He prefers it that way. But it also adds an extra layer of pressure ahead of next season.

Musselman has proven himself plenty capable of building a basketball team. His first serious job in the sport was as general manager of the Rapid City Thrillers in the now-defunct CBA. He built that team into a juggernaut in his early 20’s.

Musselman won’t be able to do that at USC in just a single transfer portal window. But the moves USC makes over the coming weeks should tell us plenty about how much he learned from the last one.

Baseball bounces back

USC pitcher Mason Edwards.

(Shotgun Spratling / For The Times)

After a historically strong start to this season, the Trojans suddenly found themselves in a four-game slump heading into the weekend. But the slide was stopped dead by USC’s ace pitcher, Mason Edwards.

In one of college baseball’s more dominant pitching efforts this season, Edwards struck out 16 of the 30 Iowa batters he faced Friday. Twelve of those 16 came on swinging strikes. Through eight innings, Edwards gave up just one hit before Iowa finally chased him in the ninth.

Thanks to its stellar rotation, USC walked away with a sweep over Iowa, right when it needed one most. Awaiting the Trojans on the road next weekend is Nebraska, which has lost just two Big Ten games this season and just one of its 16 home games.

USC top recruit Saniyah Hall during the final match of the U19 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup last summer.

(Lukas Kabon / Anadolu via Getty Images)

—USC has officially hit the $200 million fundraising mark for its Athletics West capital project. That means at least $25 million has been raised since the start of last football season, which is quite a bit to ask of your big-time donors. But what’s maybe more impressive is that during that same stretch, USC also managed to increase the size of the Trojan Victory Fund by more than 770%, according to athletic director Jennifer Cohen. Those extra funds are how USC is managing to stay afloat in this new era where money matters more than ever. The question is whether it can keep up the pace for the foreseeable future.

—The future of USC women’s basketball was on display at the Nike Hoop Summit. A trio of incoming Trojans were featured in Portland last weekend, headlined by No. 1 overall recruit Saniyah Hall, who continues to look like a Day 1 difference-maker on both ends. She led all scorers with 19, while also adding eight rebounds and four steals. Sitaya Fagan and Sara Okeke both suited up for the World team, and Fagan, in particular, impressed with her work in the paint. She got to the line early and often and ended up leading the World team with 15 points.

—The USC women are losing five players to the transfer portal. None of the five — Vivian Iwuchukwu, Gerda Raulusaityte, Yakiya Milton, Dayana Mendes and Malia Samuels — would’ve made much of an impact in a much deeper rotation next season. Samuels played the most of the five last year, but struggled in a reserve point guard role. The Women of Troy will need some reinforcements from the transfer portal, but any additions will be more about padding the rotation instead of finding starters.

—National title-winning Michigan coach Dusty May got his start in college basketball as a USC video coordinator. A quarter-century before May led the Wolverines to a championship, he was a part of the 2001 Trojans team that went to the Elite Eight. Henry Bibby gave May a job on the blind recommendation of two Indiana assistant coaches, who were impressed with his time as an Indiana student manager. He broke down film during the season and ran camps during the summer. In between, he helped out with day-to-day operations. May worked under Bibby through the 2002 season, when legendary Hoosiers coach Bob Knight hired him to do the same job in Bloomington.

Olympic sports spotlight

A hat tip to Times of Troy reader, Craig Schrager, who noted that I’d made no mention recently of USC’s top-ranked women’s water polo team, which had won a dozen matches in a row heading into Sunday’s MPSF tournament final against No. 2 Stanford.

The Trojans looked on their way to a 13th straight win and an MPSF tournament title before the fourth quarter of Sunday’s final. Entering the last quarter with a lead, USC gave up six goals in the final minutes and only responded with two in return, costing them what should’ve been their first MPSF title since 2021.

In spite of the loss, USC should be one of the leading contenders for an NCAA title, when the tournament begins on April 24.

What I’m watching this week

Hannah Einbinder, left, and Jean Smart in “Hacks” season 4.

(HBO Max)

It’s rare these days that a hit show calls it quits at the right time. More often than not, they hang on too long, wringing out every possible drop of content and damaging the show’s legacy in the process.

“Hacks” is a rare exception. I wasn’t sure at the time how this HBO comedy would do a second season, let alone a fifth. But it has proven me wrong at every step. Jean Smart only seems to get better with age, while this show has managed to re-invent itself on multiple occasions. Its final season follows Smart, again as comedian Deborah Vance, as she’s found herself legally unable to perform after breaking her late-night host contract. And somehow, it’s just as funny as ever.

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — By the time Hasan Piker takes the microphone at two campaign events with a Senate candidate in Michigan on Tuesday, the popular but controversial online streamer will have already generated plenty of noise inside the Democratic Party.

Some have pitched him as a gateway to young people — particularly young men — who have drifted to the right in recent years. Others fear he is a sign of the party beholden to its extremes, pointing to inflammatory rhetoric like “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, describing some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and that “America deserved 9/11.”

Piker’s scheduled appearances with Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, have catalyzed questions of how big a tent the party wants to build as it works to regain power in the midterm elections and win back the White House.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Piker cast the reaction as part of a broader fight for the party’s future.

“There is definitely, I think, a battle right now for who gets to be more representative of the national Democratic Party,” he said.

Piker remains largely unapologetic for his past remarks, although he’s said some were poorly worded. He called the renewed focus on them “totally ridiculous, especially considering that there are far more consequential things happening in the world right now.”

“The super wealthy are picking apart the scraps of the American carcass like a bunch of vultures, and some of the Democrats are talking about their affiliations with a Twitch streamer,” Piker said. “I think Americans understand that this is totally ridiculous.”

The 34-year-old Turkish American streamer has 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, making him an influential voice in a shifting media landscape where mainstream outlets are losing clout. Unlike traditional podcasts, his livestreams are often unscripted and interactive. He has hosted prominent Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Piker said he is a “megaphone” for an angry electorate, and he believes the criticism that he faces is less about him personally and more about what he represents — a younger, more populist wing of the party.

“I think they find me to be a more appropriate target than to just actively disparage the voters,” he said.

El-Sayed, who has been backed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, is attempting to channel that appeal in appearances at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan on Tuesday. A physician and former county health official, he is locked in a competitive Senate primary with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. It’s a critical race for a seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and the winner of the primary will likely face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers.

The three candidates have differing views on U.S. foreign policy toward Israel. Both El-Sayed and McMorrow have described the war in Gaza as a genocide. El-Sayed wants to stop all military assistance while McMorrow has pushed for a two-state solution. Stevens has described herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat.”

McMorrow told Jewish Insider that Piker was someone who “says extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views and followers,” and she compared him to white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Trump’s decision to dine with Fuentes between his presidencies ignited a firestorm of controversy over his association with extreme voices on the right. Stevens said El-Sayed is “choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric.”

El-Sayed responded to the backlash over Piker by saying “if we want to have a conversation where we’re actually bringing people together about the things that we need and deserve, we’re gonna have to go to unlikely and uncommon places.”

Not everyone in the party wants to go to those places. Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, who chairs the moderate New Democratic Coalition and co-chairs the Congressional Jewish Caucus, called Piker “an unapologetic antisemite.”

“We are deeply disappointed by the decision to host a speaker at the University of Michigan with a documented record of antisemitic rhetoric,” said Rabbi Davey Rosen, the CEO of Michigan Hillel. “Such invitations normalize hate and contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students.”

Piker said he is not antisemitic and describes himself as anti-Zionist. Hostility toward Israel has risen across the political spectrum and became a fault line within the Democratic Party during the war in Gaza.

Criticism has centered on Piker’s past remarks. After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Piker argued that whether reports of sexual violence are accurate “doesn’t change the dynamic” of the conflict. He has repeatedly said the core issue is Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Piker has drawn backlash for a comment in which he said “America deserved 9/11,” made during a 2019 livestream while discussing U.S. foreign policy. Piker has said the remark was poorly worded and added in the AP interview that he “didn’t mean that Americans deserved to die.”

Cappelletti writes for the Associated Press.

Was that really Aday Mara?

It was the most maddening part of March.

It was a Cinderella story that smelled like rotting pumpkin.

It was a big dance over the sensibilities of everything that is UCLA.

Seriously, was that really Aday Mara?

Aday Mara holds a Spanish flag and a piece of the net he cut while celebrating Michigan’s national title win Monday in Indianapolis.

(AJ Mast / Associated Press)

The biggest player on the giant national champion Michigan basketball team Monday night looked familiar, yet strange.

Familiar, because he once played for the Bruins.

Strange, because he wasn’t buried on the bench.

Meet Mick Cronin’s nightmare, a 7-foot-3 indictment of his embattled program, a monumental mistake that has spent three weeks eating at the heart of even the most dedicated Bruin loyalists.

In Michigan’s overpowering run in this tournament, Mara was everywhere.

Playing the previous two seasons at UCLA, Mara was nowhere.

In six tournament games, Mara had at least two blocks in five, scored in double figures in four and racked up 26 points with nine rebounds in the semifinal win against Arizona.

In his last 11 appearances as a Bruin last season, Mara never played more than half the game.

“One Shining Moment” is another man’s darkness, and so it was that after Michigan’s 69-63 title victory over UConn Monday night, Mara unwittingly milked his co-starring role in the tournament’s annual music video compilation.

In a brief closeup from an earlier tournament game, Mara was shown wagging his tongue in celebration … or was that in revenge?

It sure felt like the latter, as Mara’s nationally televised presence this spring repeatedly summoned one question about the current UCLA basketball culture.

How could the Bruins allow the cornerstone of the program’s future to just walk out the door?

Yes, Cronin isn’t the first coach to lose a star to the transfer portal, as Michigan became the first champion for which all five starters were transfers.

But Mara was more than a transfer, he was transformative, and everyone who had watched him roaming the Pauley floor during his sporadic appearances knew it. If Mara had stayed with the Bruins this season, they could have been at least a Sweet 16 team, maybe advancing to the Elite Eight, and who knows how much further, his presence alone changing so many things about the team in so many different ways.

Michigan’s Aday Mara dunks while Arizona players watch during the Wolverines Final Four semifinal win Saturday in Indianapolis.

(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)

His rim protection is powerful. His shot-blocking is masterful. His footwork is precise, his shooting touch soft and his overall game has been improving with his maturity.

Bruin fans loved him. Pauley rocked with him. Scouts fawned over him.

But Cronin never seemed sold on him, starting him once in two years, playing him about 13 minutes a game last season.

After which, Mara begrudgingly bolted.

“It was a hard decision to leave UCLA,” Mara told former Times staff writer Ben Bolch last spring, “because you saw every game — I was enjoying it, I was super happy because I saw all the crowd cheering for me, helping me a lot. Los Angeles is like a really, really good place, Westwood, so I’m going to miss that and I wanted to say that because it was a hard decision because it’s just after two years it feels like I spent a lot more time than two years, you know?”

When explaining the benchings, Cronin frequently talked about Mara’s matchup problems, conditioning problems, and illness problems. And to be fair, Cronin has often used his tough love with great success, turning marginal players into good ones.

But Mara was a potential superstar, and he wasn’t buying any of it.

“I had expectations when I came here that I didn’t achieve,” said Mara to Bolch. “Also, I think I felt like I was playing good, practicing good, practicing hard, you know, putting in extra work and until Wisconsin I never had the opportunity to show that I was able to play, you know? And once [Cronin] gave me the opportunity, I saw — not a lot, but I saw what I could do, so those are the two reasons.”

Ah, yes, Wisconsin. That game, in January of 2025, could have solidified the Cronin era. Instead, it eventually only served as another eventual milestone of regret.

In the Bruins upset of the Badgers, Mara had 22 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes in the best game of his UCLA career.

That finally earned him a place in the rotation after weeks of being lost on the bench, and he played more than 24 minutes in three of the next four games including finding himself in the starting lineup for the first time.

But it was also the last time. Beginning in early February, he didn’t play more than 20 minutes a game the rest of the season, which, after he experienced such success in the Badger beatdown, he found increasingly frustrating.

After the season, there were reports that Mara asked for an inordinate salary increase while demanding that he set his own practice schedule. He denied all those charges to Bolch, saying, “I feel like that’s crazy.”

You want to know what’s really crazy? That UCLA would not work with him no matter what the demands.

One can only guess about the millions of dollars paid to top UCLA athletes, but the Bruin power brokers should have busted the NIL bank for this kid. Certainly, one can also speculate that the Spaniard was considered soft and wasn’t always in great shape, but he was still a teenager and in need of the sort of persistent patience not often shown in Cronin’s world.

Whatever, there was surely a way to put Mara on a path to his seemingly destined greatness. But the hard-nosed Cronin apparently couldn’t reach him while Michigan’s gentler Dusty May could and … hmmmm.

On Monday night, one of those coaches was celebrating while the other one was watching.

Who knows, maybe Cronin and his demanding, sometimes demeaning program will pick up another shiny seven-foot star from this spring’s newly opened portal.

Or maybe not.

WASHINGTON — Democrats’ hopes of reclaiming the U.S. Senate are colliding with a fight within their own party.

In Maine, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has thrown his weight behind Gov. Janet Mills in a crucial race, but some of his Senate colleagues are backing insurgent candidate Graham Platner in a rebuke of his strategic vision. A similar dynamic is playing out in other battlegrounds, including Michigan and Minnesota, where progressive senators are endorsing non-establishment candidates.

At stake is more than any single race. Democrats are fighting over whether the party’s traditional playbook still works in a country that elected Donald Trump for a second time — and whether leaders like Schumer should remain in charge.

“Clearly there’s a disagreement of strategy here,” said New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, who has endorsed Platner.

He added that “the business-as-usual calculation for what is going to be successful in a given election cycle does not necessarily, in my view, meet the moment.”

The divide reflects a Democratic base frustrated after the last presidential election, when President Biden ran for a second term despite widespread concerns about his age. He dropped out and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump.

Nan Whaley, a Democratic strategist in Ohio who ran for governor four years ago, said the debate is no longer about progressive or moderate.

“It’s really about, who do you trust? Establishment or not establishment?” she said. “And frankly, the establishment hasn’t given us a lot to trust these past few years.”

‘A rebuke of Schumer’

In Maine, Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee have backed Mills, a 78-year-old moderate in her second term.

Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer, quickly won the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), just days after launching his campaign. His bid has since gained momentum despite scrutiny over past controversial comments and a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol.

In recent weeks, Heinrich, Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren have endorsed Platner as he builds support on Capitol Hill. Heinrich and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse held a fundraiser for him, too.

Gallego, a first-term senator who won a battleground race in 2024, downplayed the endorsements as a broader critique of party leadership.

“Senate leadership didn’t back me at the beginning. So I didn’t take that as a critique,” Gallego said.

Michigan also has a contentious primary, with three high-profile candidates. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow has said she would not support Schumer as the caucus leader if Democrats regain the majority, and she’s been endorsed by four senators.

Abdul El-Sayed, running further to the left, has been endorsed by Sanders and has also run on an anti-establishment platform.

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens has aligned with establishment figures, working with a former executive director of the Democratic campaign committee and securing support from two senators.

Democratic strategist Lis Smith said the endorsements in races like Maine and Michigan are “as much as a rebuke of Schumer as it is an endorsement of these candidates.”

“It’s pretty uncommon for sitting senators to endorse against the Senate leader,” Smith said. “Senators are reading the tea leaves and are getting feedback from the grassroots that they are dissatisfied with Schumer’s performance as leader.”

In Minnesota, an open-seat race has similarly emerged as a test of the party’s direction. Rep. Angie Craig is seen as the centrist candidate in the primary, with endorsements from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, the more progressive candidate, has been backed by Sanders, Warren and others, including Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith, who is vacating the seat.

“She understands that right now what we need are fierce fighters, people who are willing to stand up to the status quo,” Smith said in her endorsement.

‘The election may impact’ Schumer’s time as leader

Some tensions trace to March 2025, when Schumer voted with Republicans to end a government shutdown, drawing backlash from Democrats who argued he did not push hard enough against Trump’s agenda.

Later that year, Democrats held firm in a record-long shutdown fight, helping regain some ground with activists and progressives. But divisions resurfaced when a group of moderates ultimately sided with Republicans, fueling renewed frustration with party leadership even as Schumer opposed the move.

Since he became Senate leader in 2017, Schumer’s record in elections has been mixed. He led Democrats back to the majority in 2020 and expanded it in 2022 but lost ground in both 2018 and 2024.

“Leader Schumer’s North Star is taking back the Senate and is pursuing a path to do just that,” said Allison Biasotti, a spokesperson for Schumer.

He’s recruited high-profile candidates this year in tough Senate races, such as Alaska, Ohio and North Carolina. Maeve Coyle, communications director for the campaign committee, said Schumer “created a path to win a Democratic Senate majority this cycle” with the recruitment.

“Senate Democrats overperformed in the last four election cycles and in 2026, we will win seats and flip the majority,” she added.

David Axelrod, who served as a top strategist for President Obama, said that being Senate leader is never easy, and that Schumer “has been under fire for some time, particularly from progressives in the party.”

Schumer’s time as leader, Axelrod added, is likely directly linked to the outcome of the 2026 midterms.

“There’s questions as to whether he’ll run in 2028. There’s even questions as to whether he might be challenged as leader,” he said. “I think the results of this election may impact that.”

For now, Schumer’s caucus is tentatively standing behind him. None have explicitly called for him to step aside. But discontent has lingered, with some openly questioning whether the party needs a new direction.

“How people did politics in the 1990s is going to feel different than in the 2020s,” said Heinrich.

Cappelletti writes for the Associated Press.

Braylon Mullins sank a desperation three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to give Connecticut an astonishing 73-72 victory over top-seeded Duke on Sunday, earning the Huskies a spot in the Final Four after they rallied from a 19-point first-half deficit.

The Blue Devils led by three before UConn’s Silas Demary Jr. made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. With Duke playing keep-away to prevent the Huskies from fouling, Cayden Boozer’s pass near midcourt was deflected, and after UConn came up with the ball, Demary made a shot from well behind the three-point line.

It’s the second straight season to end in a huge collapse for Duke, which was the top overall seed in this year’s tournament. The Blue Devils led by six with 1:14 remaining before falling to Houston in last year’s national semifinals.

UConn missed 18 of its first 19 attempts from three-point range and finished five for 23. The fifth will be remembered in Connecticut for generations.

llinois will face UConn and Michigan will take on Arizona next Saturday, with the winners squaring off two nights later for the national title.

The Arizona-Michigan game is a matchup of top seeds. UConn is seeded second and will play No. 3 seed Illinois.

Arizona is the early favorite to take the title next Monday night in Indianapolis, listed at 19-10 odds by BetMGM Sportsbook, followed closely by the Wolverines — coming off a 95-62 drubbing of Tennessee on Sunday — at 2-1.

Michigan is a 1½-point favorite in its semifinal.

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where, as colleague Chaunte’l Powell pointed out after Saturday’s thrilling win, you’d be forgiven for having already looked ahead to the next women’s college basketball season.

After all, as the USC women stumbled into this NCAA tournament on a four-game losing streak, they hadn’t offered much reason for optimism. When coach Lindsay Gottlieb added another five-star prospect — 6-4 forward Sara Okeke — to the mix for ‘26 last week, it only made it more enticing to close the book on this season and start dreaming of where USC might end up in the next one.

But this team, the one set to face No. 1 South Carolina on Monday night for a spot in the Sweet 16, has been limited from the start without an injured JuJu Watkins.

Through most of three quarters of Saturday’s first-round matchup with Clemson, the same issues that bothered USC through much of the season were bothersome once again. The Trojans had hit just three of 17 from three-point range heading into the fourth quarter. They made six free throws. They were outrebounded. And the bench had contributed all of two points. Gottlieb was frustrated.

But Saturday’s final quarter, plus overtime, would prove to be the defining stretch of this USC women’s basketball season. During those 15 minutes, we saw exactly what Gottlieb meant when she insisted her team had another level to unlock in the tournament.

This was the team Gottlieb had envisioned when building for a JuJu-less roster.

“We’d play with a lot of grit,” Davidson told reporters after the game, “and a lot of heart.”

That came through on the defensive end most, as USC forced six turnovers and scored eight points off of them in the fourth quarter alone. Clemson didn’t manage a single second-chance point in the second half. Kara Dunn, who’d barely been a factor, found herself in the final minutes and blew up for 11 points in a seven-minute stretch. And freshman Jazzy Davidson turned things up another notch as well, scoring 13 over fourth quarter and overtime.

There were others, too. Kennedy Smith hit a tying jumper late, in addition to her relentless defense. Malia Samuels drained a late free throw to put Clemson away. Laura Williams had a late block with the game tied. That sort of alchemy had been rare through this season.

“We were playing for each other,” Dunn said. “We made the changes we needed to make, and we didn’t repeat the same mistakes we had probably in the past. I really felt like we came together.”

Even still, it might have all been for naught, had Clemson’s Mia Moore lifted off a couple milliseconds later for her final buzzer beater. Her successful last-second heave — as well as the whistle on USC — were both called off after a lengthy review so close it required a stop watch.

Those few milliseconds turned out to be the break USC hadn’t gotten all season. They told each other in the sideline huddle that they would take advantage.

“When we heard it was overtime,” Dunn said, “we said we don’t get second chances in life.”

So the Trojans defense turned up yet another notch, while its star freshman went nuclear in overtime. A pair of clutch 3-pointers from Davidson would be the dagger. She would finish with 31 points, six rebounds and five assists in a performance that seemed to announce that this was just the start of her star turn.

She — and everyone else — will have to be special Monday to even have a shot against South Carolina, a team that beat USC by 17 in November. The Gamecocks are the more talented team. Their opponents shot 34.5% on average against them this season, the fifth-best mark in the nation, while they shoot better from 3-point range (36.5%) than all but three teams left in the tournament.

Chances are that’ll prove too much for the Trojans, who enter this game as 22-point underdogs. But even if it does end here, USC found something on the court Friday, something that should in the very least help next season, when its ceiling will be higher than ever before.

Times of Troy poll

Eric Musselman

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

Two years into Eric Musselman’s tenure with the Trojans, the USC men have yet to return to the NCAA tournament. This season, they totally unraveled, losing their last eight games to finish 18-14.

I’ve heard varying feelings from fans about the nascent Musselman era. So let’s make the conversation a bit more scientific with a poll:

What’s your confidence level in Eric Musselman as USC’s men’s basketball coach after two seasons? (with 1 being “Let me off the Muss Bus” to 5 being “I’m still riding shotgun on the Muss Bus”

1 — let me off the Muss Bus

2

3

4

5 — Riding shotgun on the Muss Bus

Click here to vote in our survey

Matt Leinart with USC in 2004.

(Los Angeles Times)

—Five-star St. John Bosco forward Christian Collins committed to USC. The No. 9 overall forward, per 247 Sports, Collins is the highest-rated player to join USC under Musselman and the highest-rated player Musselman has signed since 2022. Collins has all the tools to be a force on both ends, if he can put it all together. But he’s not necessarily the type right now to be the center of a team’s offensive attack. Expect him to get off to a slow start when he does arrive this summer.

—USC hoops assistant Todd Lee is finalizing a deal to become Cal State Bakersfield’s coach, a source says. Lee has been one of Musselman’s most trusted assistants since they first worked together with the Rapid City Thrillers of the CBA back in the early 90’s. Musselman hired Lee to join his Arkansas staff, then brought him along to USC. Now he heads to Bakersfield, where he inherits a program that’s been through a lot this last year.

—Matt Leinart won’t unretire his jersey. Good for him. Leinart’s podcast went viral last week, when he noted that USC asked him on multiple occasions if an incoming transfer or freshman could wear his No. 11 jersey. It’s his prerogative if he wants to allow that. But I completely understand why he wouldn’t. Why bother retiring jerseys at all if it doesn’t actually mean anything?

—Mason Edwards’ dominance on the mound continues. The Trojan ace struck out 12 in his most recent start against Washington and gave up just one hit. Through 36 innings, Edwards now has given up just one run and seven hits. His fellow starter, Grant Govel, has been no slouch either. Govel leads the nation in wins (6) and, after a two-run outing, now has an ERA of 0.69 and he hasn’t been the best starting pitcher on his team. Wild.

Olympic sports spotlight

It has been a tough few weeks for USC women’s lacrosse. Through their most difficult stretch of the season, the Trojans have lost four straight, all to ranked teams, by a margin of 67-31. That’s the first time in program history that USC has had a losing streak that long.

That’s a concern when you consider that USC lost five out of seven to finish out last season, too. The Trojans gave up 20 goals in a game for just the first ever against Johns Hopkins last week and were trounced by Maryland in the follow-up.

With one more loss, USC would match its loss total from 2025 … with five games still remaining.

What I’m watching this week

PJ and Anthony in “Jury Duty.”

(Courtesy of Prime)

When it premiered in 2023, “Jury Duty” was one of the most surprising and unique shows I could remember airing on TV. The first season followed Ronald, an unsuspecting, totally normal guy who was called to jury duty. What he didn’t know is that everyone else involved was an actor. Hilarity ensued.

The second follows Anthony, another unsuspecting normal guy on a company retreat for his new temp job.

I figured it was impossible to make a second season, what with everyone’s familiarity with the first go-round. But somehow Amazon has managed to make this work for another season. And that’s a hell of an accomplishment in itself.

In case you missed it

Jazzy Davidson’s huge game delivers USC to thrilling overtime win in NCAA tournament

USC reaches settlement in Mike Bohn racial harassment and discrimination lawsuit

How far will USC’s women’s basketball team make it in the tournament?

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Jordan Chiles captured the Big Ten all-around crown with her seventh perfect score of the season, leading UCLA to its second straight Big Ten championship gymnastics title on Saturday.

Chiles, the Big Ten gymnast of the year, posted a conference-record score of 39.825 and earned a perfect 10 in floor routine as the Bruins defeated Michigan, Minnesota and Michigan State with a total score of 198.100.

Janelle McDonald, who guided No. 5 UCLA to the regular season and conference championship crowns for the second straight year, was named the Big Ten coach of the year.

“Our team is just going up from here,” Chiles told Big Ten Network after the meet. “We haven’t hit our peak yet.

“Obviously, there are still things that we can work on as individuals, but I think the team environment is definitely there. I couldn’t be more proud of each and every single athlete that went up today and stepped in as well.”

UCLA opened with Chiles scoring a 9.925 on beam. Tiana Sumanasekera scored a 9.925, and Katelyn Rosen, Sydney Barros and Mika Webster-Longin each scored a 9.850. Rosen managed to achieve the feat after missing the last few weeks with a foot injury.

UCLA closed the first rotation in second place, 0.125 behind Michigan.

With Chiles leading the way on floor, Webster-Longin posted a 9.925, tying her career high. Sumanasekera had the same score and Ashlee Sullivan had a 9.950.

Riley Jenkins led UCLA in the vault with a 9.950. Webster-Longin celebrated her 9.875 routine with splits. Sumanasekera had a 9.850 in the event and Sullivan received a 9.850 on her Yurchenko. Chiles closed out the vault with a 9.925, keeping the Bruins in first place ahead of Michigan State by 0.325.

Chiles and Barros each had scores of 9.950 in the uneven bars — the best mark of the season in the discipline for Barros. Webster-Longin performed some celebratory splits again when she tied her season high with a 9.900 on the uneven bars. Sumanasekera and Nola Matthews each had a 9.875 in the event.

“We are coming for y’all,” Chiles said. “This is our year and I’m very proud to say that we are the Bruins.”

The 68-team bracket for the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament is set. Matchup starting times and broadcast information will be announced later on Sunday.

The men’s First Four begins Tuesday and first-round games begin on Thursday.

First Four

Tuesday-Wednesday (at Dayton, Ohio)
No. 11 Texas (18-14) vs. No. 11 North Carolina State (20-13)
No. 11 Miami (Ohio) (31-1) vs. No. 11 Southern Methodist (20-13)
No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County (24-8) vs. Howard (23-10)
No. 16 Prairie View A&M (18-17) vs. No. 16 Lehigh (18-16)

East Region

FIRST ROUND
Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 1 Duke (32-2) vs. No. 16 Siena (23-11)
No. 8, Ohio State (21-12) vs. No. 9 Texas Christian (22-11)
Friday (at San Diego)
No. 5 St. John’s (28-6) vs. No. 12 Northern Iowa (23-12)
No. 4 Kansas (23-10) vs. No. 13 California Baptist (25-8)
Thursday (at Buffalo)
No. 6 Louisville (23-10) vs. No. 11 South Florida (25-8)
No. 3 Michigan State (25-7) vs. No. 14 North Dakota State (27-7)
Friday (at Philadelphia)
No. 7 UCLA (23-11) vs. No. 10 Central Florida (21-11)
No. 2 Connecticut (29-5) vs. No. 15 Furman (22-12)

West Region

FIRST ROUND
Friday (at San Diego)
No. 1 Arizona (32-2) vs. Long Island University (24-10)
No. 8 Villanova (24-8) vs. No. 9 Utah State (25-8)
Thursday (at Portland)
No. 5 Wisconsin (24-10) vs. No. 12 High Point (30-4)
No. 4 Arkansas (26-8) vs. No. 13 Hawaii (24-8)
No. 6 Brigham Young (23-11) No. 11 Texas / North Carolina State
No. 3 Gonzaga (30-3) vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State (21-13)
Friday (at St. Louis)
No. 7 Miami (25-8) vs. No. 10 Missouri (20-12)
No. 2 Purdue (27-8) vs. No. 15 Queens (21-13)

Midwest Region

FIRST ROUND
Thursday (at Buffalo)
No. 1 Michigan (31-3) vs. No. 16 Maryland Baltimore County / Howard
No. 8 Georgia (22-10) vs. No. 9 Saint Louis (28-5)
Friday (at Tampa)
No. 5 Texas Tech (22-10) vs. No 12 Akron (29-5)
No. 4 Alabama (23-9) vs. No. 13 Hofstra (24-10)
Friday (at Philadelphia)
No. 6 Tennessee (22-11) vs. No. 11 Miami (Ohio) / Southern Methodist
No. 3 Virginia (29-5) vs. No. 14 Wright State (23-11)
Friday (at St. Louis)
No. 7 Kentucky (21-13) vs. No. 10 Santa Clara (26-8)
No. 2 Iowa State (27-7) vs. No. 15 Tennessee State (23-9)

South Region

FIRST ROUND
Friday (at Tampa)
No. 1 Florida (26-7) vs. No. 16 Prairie View A&M / Lehigh
No. 8 Clemson (24-10) vs. Iowa (21-12)
Thursday (at Oklahoma City)
No. 5 Vanderbilt (26-8) vs. No. 12 McNeese (28-5)
No. 4 Nebraska (26-6) vs. No. 13 Troy (22-11)
Thursday (at Greenville, S.C.)
No. 6 North Carolina (24-8) vs. No. 11 Virginia Commonwealth (27-7)
No. 3 Illinois (24-8) vs. No. 14 Pennsylvania (18-11)
Thursday (at Oklahoma City)
No. 7 Saint Mary’s (27-5) No. 10 Texas A&M (21-11)
No. 2 Houston (28-6) vs. Idaho (21-14)

March 13 (UPI) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday thanked security personnel for risking their lives to thwart a potentially deadly attack on a temple this week.

Whitmer spoke at a news conference one day after a person drove a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., calling the attack “anti-Semitism at its absolute worst.”

Her comments followed the attack at the temple on Thursday, where more than 100 children were attending school at the time.

“I want to thank Temple Israel’s security personnel — they were selfless in their courage and they saved lives,” Whitmer said. “Let’s be very clear: Yes, this is a place of worship, but at the time that this attack occurred, it was a school. One hundred and four children aged 5 and younger.”

The attacker, according to police, drove through the doors of the temple and down a hallway “with purpose” when a fire started inside the vehicle.

A security guard was hit by the vehicle, but security guards also responded to the driver with gunfire and the driver died.

Temple Israel is one of the largest reform Jewish congregations in the country, Whitmer noted, attracting more than 1,000 people for Friday night Shabbat services.

“Parents bring their children to daycare and school, and it’s a place of peace, unity, light and life,” Whitmer said. “Yesterday’s attack was anti-Semitism. It was hate, plain and simple.”

“We will fight this ancient and rampant evil,” she said.

There has been an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in recent years and, according to the American Jewish Committee, roughly 70% of all religiously motivated hate crimes in the United States are committed against Jewish people.