Jordan Marsh’s 20-point eruption—both a scoring and three-point career high—propelled USC to an 88-71 statement win over Maryland, ending a mini-Big Ten slide and hinting at the Trojans’ ceiling when their bench bombs away.
The Spark: Marsh Flips the Script
LOS ANGELES—Jordan Marsh walked into Galen Center averaging 5.2 points and 0.8 made threes a night. He left Tuesday with a box score that looked like a typo: 20 points, 4-of-6 from deep, plus-18 in 26 minutes. The sophomore’s outburst turned a nip-and-tuck affair into an 88-71 laugher and answered the one question hanging over USC (14-3, 3-3 Big Ten): can anyone besides Chad Baker-Mazara create a perimeter volcano?
Maryland (7-10, 0-6) discovered the hard way that the answer is suddenly “yes.” After eight ties and six lead changes, Ezra Ausar’s three-point play at 13:51 ignited a 10-0 Trojan burst. Marsh book-ended that run with a corner triple, then capped a later 12-2 close-out with another wing three and a leak-out layup. In four minutes the lead ballooned from four to 14; the Terps never threatened again.
By the Numbers: Why 52% Shooting Matters
- USC is now 14-0 when shooting 40% or better; they cleared 50% for only the fifth time this season.
- Marsh’s four triples equal the combined total he’d hit in the previous 16 games.
- The Trojans’ bench out-scored Maryland’s 37-18; Marsh (20), Jacob Cofie (12) and Jerry Easter II (10) all finished in double figures.
- Maryland’s slide hits four straight, seven of eight; the 0-6 Big Ten start is the program’s worst since 1993.
What Changed for Marsh?
Head coach Eric Musselman simplified the offense after last week’s 0-for-9 team clunker at Michigan. “We told Jordan every corner is his—if he’s open, let it fly,” Musselman said post-game. Marsh obliged, drilling his first two attempts within 90 seconds of checking in. The confidence carried to the defensive end, where he helped limit Terp star David Coit to 3-of-9 shooting after halftime.
Big-Ten Picture: USC’s Sleeper Case
The Trojans entered the night ranked 42nd in KenPom, dragged down by a 299th-ranked turnover rate and sporadic outside shooting. One hot night doesn’t fix everything, but it exposes a ceiling most bracket models haven’t priced in:
- Depth: Five double-figure scorers plus a top-25 recruiting class means Musselman can survive off nights from Baker-Mazara (held out second half with neck stiffness).
- Size: 7-foot Malik Thomas and 6-10 Ausar give USC the league’s second-best two-point defense (44.1%).
- Schedule: After Saturday’s visit from No. 5 Purdue, USC’s next five Big Ten games are all Quadrant-2 or lower—an opportunity to stack résumé wins before a March 1 trip to Illinois.
Maryland’s Free-Fall: Coit Can’t Do It Alone
David Coit poured in 30, his third 30-plus eruption of the season, but the supporting cast vanished. Outside of Solomon Washington (11 pts, 8 reb) and Darius Adams (11), no other Terp cracked double digits. Worse, Maryland shot 6-of-22 after Coit’s three cut the deficit to 63-59; the drought lasted nearly five minutes, long enough for USC to bury them.
Coach Kevin Willard’s club now sits dead-last in Big Ten efficiency, 48 spots behind 13th-place Northwestern. The schedule offers little relief: Sunday’s visit from Penn State begins a stretch of four ranked foes in five games. The last time Coit dropped 41, it rescued Maryland against Mount St. Mary’s; he’ll need similar heroics—or a rapid role-player awakening—to avoid 0-7.
Next Up
Maryland returns home Sunday to face Penn State desperate for its first league win. USC welcomes No. 5 Purdue on Saturday in a nationally televised litmus test: if Marsh can replicate even 70% of Tuesday’s fireworks, the Trojans will enter the top-25 conversation—and the bracket chatter will explode.
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