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.
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
Southern California | Kansas | |
Isaiah Mobley 17 | Scoring | Marcus Garrett 15 |
Evan Mobley 5 | Assists | Marcus Garrett 4 |
Evan Mobley 13 | Rebounds | Marcus Garrett 6 |
Chevez Goodwin 2 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Garrett 2 |
Evan Mobley 1 | Steals | Ochai Agbaji 2 |
Evan Mobley 3 | Blocks | Ochai Agbaji 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Southern California | 85 | 57.1 | 11-18 | 10-17 | 18 | 38 | 4 | 3 | 14 |
Kansas | 51 | 29.0 | 6-25 | 9-12 | 12 | 26 | 2 | 8 | 7 |