LOS ANGELES _ It was about 15 minutes after USC let a winnable game slip away on Saturday evening, 81-70 to No. 5 Oregon, that players began sliding into side gyms at the Galen Center.
Shaqquan Aaron walked past a security guard, on his way to his typical post-game shooting routine. "Still love you guys," the security guard said. He nodded his head.
A flight of stairs below, Bennie Boatwright had on a pair of headphones, holding his own basketball. He too wanted more shots.
Boatwright had been absent with an injury in USC's first loss to Oregon, a 23-point road blowout in December. The Trojans hoped his presence would be decisive. But he never found a rhythm. He made 15 points but shot just three for 15.
"He feels worse than anyone in this arena," Coach Andy Enfield said. "Worse, times 10."
USC (21-5, 8-5 in the Pac-12 Conference) had opportunities but kicked away chances for easy points. Chimezie Metu couldn't finish two ally-oops. Jordan McLaughlin missed a dunk early. De'Anthony Melton handed Oregon two points when he committed a lane violation after a missed one-and-one free throw.
The Trojans committed 16 turnovers, several on inbound passes.
"We didn't turn the ball over against the press," Enfield said. "I thought our guards were just a little off tonight, as far as their decision-making."
The shooting didn't help. Trojans made 37 percent of their field goals and six of 27 three-pointers.
"We missed so many shots," Enfield said. "You're not going to beat Oregon shooting 22 percent from the three-point line."
USC could've used the resume-making victory. When members of the team awoke on Saturday morning, they found they'd been excluded from the national basketball conversation. The NCAA tournament had unveiled its sneak peek of the NCAA tournament, showing the top 16 projected teams. Three Pac-12 teams made the cut _ UCLA, Arizona and Oregon.
USC was not one of them. It had been expecting the snub.
"To me, it doesn't really matter," point guard Jordan McLaughlin said the day before the reveal. "It's subject to change."
The change, USC hoped, would come Saturday. USC already had a similar resume to the Pac-12 Conference's triumvirate. USC's 21-4 record entering Saturday's contest was the same as Oregon's. But it needed a head-to-head win.
The chances looked dim with five minutes remaining, when Oregon (22-4, 11-2) led by 10 points.
But USC began to seize the momentum after Boatwright made two crucial plays. Down eight, he drained a three-pointer. Two possessions later, with less than four minutes left, he worked his way to the interior against Oregon forward Dillon Brooks, muscled up a shot and drew a foul. It was Brooks' fifth foul.
Oregon would have to play without its leading scorer _ Brooks finished with 21. For USC, Metu scored 16, and Stewart scored 15.
Boatwright made both free throws to cut the deficit to three.
Two nights earlier, Oregon had squandered a 19-point lead to UCLA. Now, a double-digit lead late was slipping away.
The Ducks would not allow it to happen again. On the next possession, Tyler Dorsey hit a three-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock. The possession after that Jordan Bell muscled inside for a score. Then Dorsey made another. Dylan Ennis made two free throws.
Oregon owned the final three minutes, scoring on four possessions in a row.
Brooks, Stewart said, "became a martyr."
USC has made a habit this season of mounting furious second-half assaults to overtime a first-half hole. The routine failed against a more unforgiving opponent. Two mid-half lapses doomed USC. Midway through the first half, Oregon tore off a 12-2 run. USC erased the early deficit early into the second half, only to allow another 11-2 at nearly the same point in the half.
"I think when they watch the film they'll see the little things make a big difference," Enfield said.
"We played hard," he said. "We just didn't play well enough to beat a top-five team in the country."
