Somehow, things just keep getting worse for USC's basketball team.
Four days after coach Eric Musselman lamented the early season loss of leading scorer Rodney Rice to injury, the Trojans found themselves down their next-best player.
Guard Chad Baker-Mazara took a tumble early in the second half against No. 12 Nebraska on Saturday at the Galen Center, depriving USC of the player who had taken over as the top scorer in Rice's absence.
Nebraska forward Braden Frager (5) and Southern California forward Chad Baker-Mazara, left, react after a hard contact during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang) AP
Predictably, the short-handed Trojans faltered the rest of the way during an 82-67 loss to the Cornhuskers. It's the fifth consecutive defeat for a team with fading NCAA Tournament hopes.
Baker-Mazara suffered an apparent leg injury after going down hard along the baseline with 16:59 left in the game. He had just blocked a shot by Nebraska's Pryce Sandfort in transition when he went down.
After heading into the tunnel leading to the locker room, Baker-Mazara returned to take a seat near Rice alongside fans on the baseline near the team's bench. Musselman did not provide an update on the nature or severity of Baker-Mazara's injury after the game.
The Trojans (18-11, 7-11 Big Ten) couldn't find any semblance of offense with Baker-Mazara out of the game. After leading by five points at halftime, they were outscored, 51-31, in the second half while shooting only 38.5% and missing all nine 3-pointers.
"The first half, I thought we played as good as we probably could," Musselman said, "and then I thought in the second half we weren't very good."
USC didn't get enough of a boost from guard Alijah Arenas, who scored 14 points — all in the second half — after coming off the bench for the first time this season. Baker-Mazara's 14 points in a little more than a half tied Arenas for most on the team.
There wasn't much to cheer — unless you were rooting for Nebraska. The large throng of Cornhuskers fans continually chanted "Go Big Red!" in the second half, and they weren't referring to USC's shade of cardinal.
Jan 21, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Alijah Arenas (0) enters the court before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
With USC having fallen to No. 61 in the NET rankings going into Saturday, this was a win the Trojans had to have for NCAA Tournament purposes.
They couldn't get it, remaining stuck on just two Quad 1 victories. They also fell to 9-6 at home, where they continue to play some of their worst basketball.
After an inspired first half in which they took a 36-31 lead, the Trojans fell flat coming out of the locker room.
Baker-Mazara getting hurt certainly didn't help.
Nebraska went on a 12-2 run capped on a Berke Buyuktuncel dunk off a lob from Jamarques Lawrence. The Cornhuskers later added a 15-0 run on the way to leading by as many as 20 points.
Everything USC tried defensively on Sandfort failed. Badly.
The crafty Nebraska forward was a game-long menace, finishing with 32 points while making 12 of 21 shots and 5 of 10 3-pointers. His 3-pointer with a little more than nine minutes left gave the Cornhuskers an 18-point lead and prompted another futile timeout from Musselman.
The Trojans will play at Washington on Wednesday before facing UCLA on March 7 at the Galen Center in the second game in 12 days between the crosstown rivals.
