Isaiah Mobley recorded 17 points and eight rebounds Monday, while his brother, Evan Mobley, added a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards as No. 6-seeded USC trounced Kansas 85-51 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Indianapolis.
USC (24-7) moves on in the West Region to face Pac-12 rival Oregon on Sunday in the Sweet 16. The Trojans’ win capped a 10-1 performance by Pac-12 teams in the opening rounds.
While the Mobley brothers contributed mightily, their supporting cast was good too. USC shot a sizzling 61.1 percent from 3-point range as Isaiah White went 3-for-4 and added 13 points. Isaiah Mobley shot 4-for-5 from deep. The Trojans enjoyed a 43-27 advantage on the glass.
Third-seeded Kansas (21-9) shot just 29 percent from the field attempting to solve USC’s length while suffering its worst defeat in 49 NCAA Tournament appearances. Its most lopsided setback had been a 60-42 loss to Indiana in the 1940 championship game.
Marcus Garrett led the Jayhawks with 15 points, despite drawing his fourth foul with 14:41 remaining while attempting to limit Evan Mobley, the presumptive NBA lottery pick and Pac-12 player of the year. No other Jayhawk scored in double figures.
Tahj Eaddy added 12 points and Chevez Goodwin added 10 as the Trojans placed five scorers in double figures.
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Jalen Wilson, a Kansas starter who missed the first round because of COVID-19 protocol, played just eight minutes and scored two points.
USC closed the first half with an 11-0 run to build a 40-21 halftime spread behind Isaiah Mobley, who scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds. Evan Mobley added seven points and 10 boards as the Trojans forged a 25-15 rebounding advantage.
By scoring on nine of their last 10 possessions, the Trojans gained distance while the Jayhawks failed to score over the final four minutes. Garrett netted seven first-half points to pace Kansas, though the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, Ochai Agbaji, went 0-for-6 as part of a 25.8 percent collective shooting clip.
–Field Level Media