USC basketballs latest collapse vs Washington is requiem for lost season

CHICAGO — Some sat at their lockers with heads down, others with blank stares.The disappointment hung thick in the air after an eighth consecutive loss that registered as one final letdown for the USC basketball team.“I mean, it’s hard,” graduate guard Ryan Cornish told The California Post on Wednesday before taking off his uniform for the last time as a college player.“Ending the season, especially for the seniors, it’s not something you want to go through.”Coach Eric Musselman indicated that the season was over.There will be no National Invitation Tournament for this team, not after the way the Trojans played over the last five weeks and all the injuries they had accumulated since the season’s early going.“I can’t wait to get to work for next year,” Musselman said, “starting tonight when I get back to the hotel.”There’s no point in looking back, not after USC’s 83-79 overtime loss to Washington in its Big Ten Tournament opener at the United Center fit a frustratingly familiar pattern.The Trojans came out strong.

They looked connected.They took the lead.Then the second half started, and the inevitable collapse came.A 13-point lead was wiped out in a matter of minutes.

A chance at going ahead in the final seconds of regulation was lost.So was another one late in overtime.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “That’s been the story of our last eight games,” said Musselman, who has presided over the Trojans’ longest losing streak since they dropped nine in a row during the middle of the 2014-15 season.

“I think we’ve led at halftime four of our last eight games, and as a group, we haven’t figured out how to close games the last 20 minutes with a lead.Disappointing last eight games of the season.”After appearin...