Still smarting from an embarrassing loss to Division II Chaminade, the Longhorns quickly return to action in this afternoon’s consolation bracket game against Southern Cal. Last night, the Trojans were obliterated by Illinois, 94-64. Brandon Paul put on a clinic from long range, dropping six three-pointers on USC en route to a 26-point performance. Although the Trojans looked overmatched and bewildered at times, they pose a very tough test for a Texas team that has yet to impress this season and is still reeling from an ugly loss.

This season, the Trojans are looking to rebound from an injury-plagued 6-26 mark in the 2011-12 campaign. Having lost only Maurice Jones to grade issues and a transfer, Coach Kevin O’Neill now has a full roster, loaded with talented transfers. Through their first three games, the Trojans have improved their adjusted offensive efficiency to .956 points per possession, up from an abysmal .876 PPP in 2011-12.

Keys to the game

1) Control the basketball – Coach O’Neill has long been known as a defensive guru, and even his worst teams have at least focused on that side of the ball. The Longhorns have struggled with ball control so far this season, posting a turnover percentage of 29.7% against their D-I opponents. In last night’s loss to Chaminade, Texas performed slightly better by only coughing it up on 23.4% of their possessions. Points will likely be hard to come by for both teams in this game, so the Longhorns cannot afford to waste their opportunities with careless turnovers.

2) Compete on the glass – Texas was dominated on the boards by a much smaller Chaminade team last night, and will be facing a very formidable USC frontcourt this afternoon. Junior Dewayne Dedmon is one of three seven-footers on the roster, as both Rice transfer Omar Oraby (7’2″) and former Texas A&M center James Blasczyk (7’1″) come in off the bench. Throw in athletic forwards like Eric Wise and Aaron Fuller, and the Longhorns will have their work cut out for them on the glass. Texas already struggles to score, so being shut out on the offensive boards would spell disaster.

3) Get bench production – Both of these teams played in the evening session yesterday, giving Texas about 17 hours of rest between games, while USC will only have about 14. Although Texas used every player in the core rotation and only Javan Felix played more than 32 minutes, both coaches will likely rely on a liberal substitution pattern. In a game that is probably going to be close and low scoring, it could be the contributions of an unheralded bench guy that earns the win for his team this afternoon.