The Trojans were the better team on the court for the first ten minutes, but the Jayhawks proved superior over the full 40, as fourth-ranked Kansas (7-0) withstood a late USC push and won, 59-55, at a sold-out Galen Center. USC (6-2) led by as many as ten points in the first half, and carried a lead into the second half, only to fall behind by nine points late in the game. But the Trojans regrouped at the end of the contest and managed to cut the Jayhawk lead to two points, only to have Kansas’ Mario Chalmers hit a very long three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to seal USC’s fate.

Both teams played stellar defense in the first half, and Kansas continued to take USC out of their game in the second half. But frequent whistles by the officials seemed to take the Trojans out of their game in the second half, as they seemed to ease up a bit on defense. The Jayhawks were also able to take advantage of their superior depth (with the Jayhawk bench outscoring USC’s 11 to 2), and dominated on the boards, 40-25. The Trojans seemed capable of overcoming those factors, but could not get consistent scoring from OJ Mayo (who had 19 points but was just 6 of 21 from the field), and could not get any kind of offense whatsoever from Taj Gibson, who scored his only basket of the game with under three minutes remaining, just before he fouled out for the second-straight game. Davon Jefferson had another solid game with 17 points, including some crucial free throws in the closing minutes, and is quickly emerging as the Trojans’ most consistent player. Both teams shot well under 40% for the game, and combined for a whopping 40 turnovers.

KU’s Chalmers led all scorers with 20 points in what was, euphemistically, an interestingly-officiated game. Trojan head coach Tim Floyd was so disgusted with the officiating at one point in the second half that he was whistled for a technical foul after arguing and had to be restrained by fellow coaches and players. Floyd also appeared to have a disagreement with USC starting forward Dwight Lewis midway through the second half, and Lewis never returned to the floor.

USC now boards a plane for New York, where they will face No. 3 Memphis at Madison Square Garden in a nationally-televised game on Tuesday night in the Jimmy V. Classic.

Chalmers’ late heroics lead No. 4 Kansas past USC  (AP via ESPN)
No. 4 Kansas edges USC (LA Times)