oregon

A season of frustratingly unfortunate events for USC had led here, to this nightmarish crescendo at the one-minute mark Saturday, in a must-win matchup.

Through a roller-coaster afternoon, the Trojans had navigated one wave after another, riding several hot streaks and surviving the cold ones, knowing full well that their NCAA tournament hopes hinged on a win over Oregon, one of the Big Ten’s worst teams.

All that stress seemed to subside as USC took a six-point lead with 70 seconds remaining. Any rational onlooker would assume that the Trojans had held on for good, dispatching of the Ducks.

But then Oregon scored on a layup. It stole the ball back. And it hit a three-pointer.

USC coach Eric Musselman reacts after a play during the Trojans’ loss to Oregon Saturday at the Galen Center.

(Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

USC clung to a one-point lead as freshman Alijah Arenas stepped back for a jumper that clanged away. Kam Woods missed a tip. Then, Oregon got the ball back and drew a foul.

Two free throws from Oregon’s Nate Bittle dealt USC one final, unbelievable blow to their Saturday — and perhaps their season — handing the Trojans a devastating 71-70 loss.

Their hopes of making the NCAA tournament aren’t necessarily dead as of Saturday. Four games still remain for the Trojans to build their case before the Big Ten tournament. But two of those come against UCLA and another against Nebraska, one of the best teams in the Big Ten this season.

USC had hoped Chad Baker-Mazara‘s return from injury would help lift them to a victory Saturday. Baker-Mazara led all scorers with 21, but he also fouled out late, during that final possession.

Arenas struggled most of the afternoon, before scoring 11 in the second half. But it was his turnover in the final seconds that ultimately handed Oregon the win

Baker-Mazara hadn’t played since the beginning of February, and in back-to-back losses to Illinois and Ohio State, the Trojans undoubtedly missed his spark. If not for a late game winner in State College from Arenas, they would’ve dropped all three games played without Baker-Mazara.

The circumstances ultimately left USC in a must-win scenario Saturday, if it hoped to continue clinging to the edge of the NCAA tournament bubble. Oregon had, on the other hand, spent most of the season in the Big Ten cellar. It entered Saturday’s matinee with losses in 11 of its last 12 games.

There was no such urgency in Baker-Mazara upon his return. The sixth-year senior sang and danced his way through warm-ups, before opening the game on a stationary bike in the corner of the arena.

But upon checking in, he jolted the Trojans offense to life with 13 straight points.

The boost Baker-Mazara provided eventually ran out of gas. USC hit just three of its final 14 shots before halftime, and Oregon stormed out in front.

The Ducks did the same in the second half, albeit in much more devastating fashion, leaving USC with a much harder road ahead.

EUGENE, Ore. — Tyler Bilodeau had 18 points, Eric Daily Jr. had his second double-double this season, and UCLA beat shorthanded Oregon 73-57 on Wednesday night to extend the Ducks’ losing streak to seven games.

Dailey finished with 14 points and a career-high tying 11 rebounds. Donovan Dent scored 11 of his 15 in the second half for UCLA (15-6, 7-3 Big Ten) and Trent Perry, who was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting before halftime, added 12 points.

The Bruins have won three in a row and five of their last six.

Kwame Evans Jr. led Oregon (8-13, 1-9) with 24 points, which included four three-pointers, and nine rebounds. Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad and Takai Simpkins — who are first (16.3 per game), second (15.6) and fourth (12.4), respectively, on the team in scoring this season — did not play for the Ducks due to injuries.

Evans made a layup to open the scoring 10 seconds into the game but UCLA scored the next eight points to take the lead for good. Bilodeau scored seven points in a 13-2 run that made it 26-13 with 7:08 left in the first half.

The Ducks, who started one-of-11 shooting, shot just 25% (eight of 32) from the field, four of 17 (24%) from three-point range, in the first half.

UCLA has won four straight in the series and is 98-42 against the Ducks.

Dailey threw down an alley-oop dunk that gave UCLA its biggest lead at 44-24 with 16:46 left in the game. Evans scored the Ducks’ first seven points in a 12-2 run that trimmed the deficit to 10 about 3 1/2 minutes later, but Oregon got no closer.

UCLA made 20 of 23 from the free-throw line, where the Ducks went six of nine.

As far as first impressions go, new UCLA football coach Bob Chesney has been hitting the ball out of the park, according to high school coaches who have been receiving visits since Chesney started focusing on introducing himself to local coaches when the college transfer portal closed on Jan. 16.

“He’s a high-energy guy who has a clear vision,” St. John Bosco coach Jason Negro said. “He’s going to bring some excitement back. I was highly impressed. If he’s going to execute what his plan is, he’s going to have immediate success.”

There are so many Chesney sightings at high schools around Southern California, you have to wonder if he’s also scouting for a new house, but that’s probably left to his wife. On his visit to St. John Bosco, his driver was former St. John Bosco assistant Marshawn Friloux, a holdover in the Bruins’ recruiting department from the previous staff.

Bellflower coach Keith Miller, whose son, Austin, is one of the top tight ends from the class of 2029, got a school visit from Chesney, who also met Miller’s wife. Austin was offered a scholarship on Saturday after an unofficial visit to Westwood.

Miller said Chesney was eloquent and transparent, telling his son, “I didn’t just watch your film, I studied it and what stood out to me are the multiple efforts you make, especially your ‘scoop and score’ vs. Oxnard. Multiple effort playmakers are special. All great players have that trait. That’s what I love about you.”

UCLA has also been making early scholarship offers far more than the days when Chip Kelly refused to join that trend. Things started to change under former coach DeShaun Foster and Chesney’s new recruiting philosophy appears to be to get UCLA involved among multiple prospects in all grades and be competitive in Southern California, where coaches from USC, Oregon, California, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Oregon State and Washington were among those making the rounds last week while making scholarship offers.

As an example of the challenge Chesney faces, USC coach Lincoln Riley brought in the No. 1 recruiting class this year and was visiting the No. 1 player for the class of 2027 in California, defensive back/running back Honor Fa’alave-Johnson from San Diego Cathedral Catholic.

“I think he’s got a vision and a belief to develop kids and not create this transactional culture in college football,” Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman said of Chesney. “I think you’d be a fool to sleep on UCLA the next few years. He’s super personal. What I sense from him is they have well thought out recruiting strategy and they’re not throwing spaghetti against the wall. He knows which kids can be successful in his culture and system and thrive and love UCLA.”

But NIL resources remain critical in this new era, and some players and parents will continue to place that priority over others. That will require Chesney to find those “diamonds in the rough” from his James Madison coaching days.

Negro said, “He’s going to fit to what is needed for the program. He’s not normally going to focus just on the stars. He’s done that at a lower level. He’s going to find some foundational players. It’s going to be hard at first. If people have expectations they’re going to pull an Indiana, that’s premature. But UCLA is closer than people think. This guy is very dynamic, hard-driven and understands L.A.”

Said Servite coach Chris Reinert: “He’s doing things the right way. He seems to be hitting the ground running. He spent an hour here.”

Chesney promised in his opening news conference in December that he wanted to build relationships with high school coaches, and Negro confirmed Chesney is inviting coaches to visit UCLA. That’s not unusual. Reinert said USC’s Riley did the same.

Chesney dropped by City Section school Hamilton, which has a top Class of 2029 quarterback in Thaddeus Breaux. Then Breaux was offered a scholarship. Hamilton coach Elijah Asante said, “Coach Chesney is a grinder and he’s going to find those hidden gems.”

Expect more Chesney sightings this week until the recruiting period closes at the end of this week.

Entering a particularly consequential season for coach Lincoln Riley at USC, a brutal Big Ten slate won’t cut the Trojans or their coach any slack in 2026.

That much was clear long before the Big Ten officially released its schedule for next season Tuesday. USC already knew it would face the conference’s top three teams from a season ago (Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon). But the official unveiling of the slate would further solidify just how grueling the climb could be for USC next season.

Oregon will face Portland State, an FCS team, a week before coming to USC on Sept. 26. Ohio State will have a bye week before its Halloween meeting with USC at the Coliseum, and so will the defending champ, Indiana, which USC will face in Bloomington on Nov. 14.

The Trojans will assuredly have to win at least one of those games to maintain their hopes of making the College Football Playoff in Riley’s fifth season. The rest of the schedule is hardly a cakewalk too, with trips to Rutgers (Sept. 19), Penn State (Oct. 10) and Wisconsin (Oct. 24).

The nonconference schedule is still being finalized, after talks broke down between USC and Notre Dame over the future of their rivalry series. But with two byes already baked into the Trojans’ schedule, a person familiar with the situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that USC plans to schedule its season opener during Week Zero, with a home game on Aug. 29.

That timing drastically cuts down USC’s options for finding a fill-in opponent to open the season against at the Coliseum.

In order to play in Week Zero in its home stadium and not internationally or at a neutral site, USC must secure an exemption from the NCAA. That probably limits the Trojans to a team that faces Hawaii in 2026 — and thus gets an exemption from the NCAA to play an additional game — or means playing a Football Championship Series team, which USC has notably never done.

Starting the season early will allow for USC to add an extra bye week, while most Big Ten schools are working with just one during their 2026 slates. It’ll need that break considering what the latter half of the season holds.

After kicking off in late August, USC opens the season with home games in five of its first six weeks. But after that, the Trojans return home just twice the rest of the season, for matchups against Ohio State on Oct. 31 and Maryland on Nov. 21.