March Madness is upon us and fans are starting to fill out their brackets. As you scan each region and look for your favorite teams and players, you might notice that one big name is missing.
Where are Bronny James and USC?
The Sporting News breaks down the Trojans' season and NCAA Tournament resume below.
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Where is Bronny James, USC in 2024 March Madness?
James and the Trojans did not qualify for March Madness.
They also did not receive an invite to the NIT and are not in the CBI tournament bracket.
That means USC's season is over.
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Why didn't USC qualify for March Madness?
- Overall record: 15-18
- Pac-12 record: 8-12
- NET ranking: 88
- Quad 1 record: 2-9
- Quad 2 record: 5-5
- Quad 3 record: 4-3
- Quad 4 record: 4-1
As you can see above, USC's resume was not that of an at-large NCAA Tournament team.
The Trojans' only shot at qualifying for March Madness was securing an automatic bid by winning the Pac-12 Tournament. Once Arizona eliminated USC in the second round, its NCAA Tournament hopes were finished.
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That loss brought an end to a rollercoaster season for the Trojans.
USC came into the year with Pac-12 and national championship aspirations. It returned fifth-year senior guard Boogie Ellis and starting forwards Kobe Johnson, Joshua Morgan, and Vincent Iwuchukwu. The Trojans secured DJ Rodman in the transfer portal and had two star recruits in James and top-ranked prospect Isaiah Collier.
Before the season even got started, USC was dealing with injuries and absences.
James suffered cardiac arrest during a team workout over the summer and missed four months of action. His debut came eight games into the season, and he was on a minutes restriction for another five games.
Both Collier (six games) and Ellis (four games) missed time due to injury, too. Collier fractured his thumb in January and missed a month of action. Ellis was dealing with a nagging hamstring injury and didn't look right even when he was on the court.
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Those were the extended injury absences for the Trojans, but Johnson, Morgan, and Iwuchukwu each missed two games apiece and Rodman missed one game.
USC was hardly ever whole and fell short of expectations even when it was.
Even with enough talent to make the NCAA Tournament, the Trojans did not.