The USC Trojans made history on Sunday, but not the kind they wanted to make.
The Trojans were left out of the NCAA Tournament field as one of the “first four out.” According to USC reporter Joey Kaufman of the OC Register, the Trojans, with an RPI of No. 34, are the highest-ranked major conference team ever left out of the tournament since the field was expanded to 68 teams.
With an RPI of No. 34, USC is the highest-ranked major conference team ever left out of the NCAA Tournament in the 68-team era.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) March 11, 2018
USC went 23-11, including 12-6 in Pac-12 play, which placed them second in the conference. They reached the Pac-12 title game before losing to Arizona. In non-conference, they struggled somewhat though they did take down bubble team Middle Tennessee. They did not beat Arizona or UCLA, but they defeated Oregon three times and Utah twice — no easy feat.
In the end, the Pac-12 had just three teams make it: Arizona, Arizona State, and UCLA. The choice of ASU over USC is questionable, as is leaving USC out of the field entirely.
