Kansas star David McCormack a familiar foe for USC's Mobley brothers
The USC coaching staff has spent the second half of the weekend studying Kansas and preparing for the No. 6-seeded Trojans' second-round NCAA tournament clash with the No. 3 Jayhawks on Monday night.
But a couple Trojans are already well acquainted with the biggest obstacle Kansas will throw at USC.
David McCormack, the Jayhawks' 6-foot-10, 250-pound junior forward, returned from a COVID-19 absence to tally 22 points and 9 rebounds in Kansas' 93-84 comeback win over Eastern Washington in first-round action Saturday.
He played a larger role (25 minutes off the bench) in his first action since March 4 than expected despite not rejoining the team in Indianapolis, Ind., until Friday. And with more practice time, he should have no limitations at all against the Trojans on Monday.
While Kansas has a deep lineup and strong perimeter play, McCormack is the most intriguing facet of this matchup as he'll square off against USC 7-foot second-team All-American Evan Mobley, with 6-foot-10 Isaiah Mobley and 6-foot-9 Chevez Goodwin also likely to spend some time matched up against him.
For the Mobley brothers, it won't be the first time.
"He's a big dude. He's extremely active. I've known him for a while. I played against him a couple times coming up on the AAU circuit, so yeah, he's a good dude, he has a high motor, he's real active and just an overall big fella," Isaiah Mobley said Sunday.
RELATED: Perspective from the Kansas side of the matchup
No. 6 USC vs. No. 3 Kansas
When: 6:40 p.m. PT Monday
Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind.
TV: CBS
McCormack, out of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, was ranked the No. 35 overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, a year ahead of Isaiah Mobley and two years ahead of Evan.
The elder Mobley was asked what he can take from those AAU head-to-head experiences and apply to preparing for the matchup Monday.
"Just making sure you know where he's at at all times, because even when he doesn't have the ball he's a big dude so it's hard to box him out and get those rebounds," Isaiah Mobley said. "It's going to be a dogfight down there, especially with all that's on the line now, and I'm sure he's grown and gotten better since the last time we played. And me and Evan as well have gotten better so I'm excited to see how that goes."
Kansas is 21-8 overall and was still short-handed Saturday vs. Eastern Washington after having to bow out of the Big 12 tournament due to COVID setbacks. Even with McCormack (13.4 points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game for the season) returning strong, redshirt freshman forward Jalen Wilson (12.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG) remained out. He's eligible (and expected) to rejoin the team Monday.
The Jayhawks had to overcome a 10-point second-half deficit to advance, but USC coach Andy Enfield knows his Trojans will be seeing a different version of that team with Wilson back in the mix.
"They're very big, all their guards are 6-5, 6-6, they have shot-blocking with McCormack -- he's 6-10 and very athletic -- and then Wilson is 6-8. So they have great size across their roster and they keep everything on the side of the floor and they play very hard, so they're a very good defensive team," Enfield said.
"They play four guards a lot and Wilson will be back for our game -- he's been out the last game or two because of the COVID, but he'll be back for our game. He's a very good player. ... So they have their full roster and they're very experienced, have a lot of talent. We'll watch their last few games and go through their season, look at how teams have played them, and I'm sure they'll do the same for us."
As Enfield noted, Kansas' defense is a strength -- the scoring barrage from Eastern Washington being an outlier. The Jayhawks rank eighth in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric -- two spots ahead of USC.
Kansas won eight out of nine games before having its Big 12 semifinals game with Texas cancelled, so the Jayhawks have been playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch.
In addition to McCormack and Wilson, Kansas has junior guard Ochai Agbaji averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range (74 of 191), senior guard Marcus Garrett averaging 10.4 PPG and sophomore guard Christian Braun averaging 9.8 PPG.
Enfield said he couldn't think of a team the Trojans have played this season that reminds him of what they'll see Monday.
"I was trying to think of that today, but no, not really," he said. "With a true big man and the amount of shooting they have -- they made 13 3s [Saturday] -- and the size that they have across their guards, they're unique. You just don't find too many teams in college basketball like them, and that's why they're a top 10 team in the country. They're very, very good.
"They deny you, they push you out, they extend your offense by denying you the ball or putting pressure on you, sometimes in the fullcourt, so we'll have to be prepared for that. We've seen that kind of defense throughout the season, so that won't be new to us, but we just have to handle the pressure and make smart decisions."
One could make the point that USC might be at its strongest right now too, for the sole reason that Evan Mobley has never looked better. The Pac-12 Player of the Year is averaging 23 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks over the Trojans' two Pac-12 tournament games and first NCAA tournament contest.
Isaiah Mobley, meanwhile, had his best game in a while on Saturday, with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting with 5 rebounds. It marked his most points since Feb. 17. With guards Tahj Eaddy and Drew Peterson also capable of big contributions, the Trojans should be carrying plenty of confidence into this round of the tournament.
How they handle McCormack, though, will be perhaps the key matchup to monitor.
"McCormack outweighs Evan, he's very physical. He's not quite as long and athletic as Evan, because Evan is 7-feet, 210 pounds with that wingspan. But McCormack is a different type of big than Evan. He's more of a low-block, physical dunk-in guy. Everything is done in the lane and around the basket with angles and sealing the post," Enfield said. "So Evan and Isaiah and Chevez and whoever else we put in there is going to have to use their quickness, their athleticism and their toughness. McCormack is as good of a big as we've faced all season."
Overall, this is just an intriguing matchup for a variety of reasons. Kansas is one of the most storied programs in college basketball, the game is being played at legendary Hinkle Fieldhouse (prominently featured in the movie "Hoosiers"), and these two teams were actually supposed to play a game in Lawrence, Kan., early this season before the Pac-12's reaction to the pandemic wiped out a lot of marquee non-conference matchups.
"This is definitely what you live for. If this game doesn't give you any motivation then I don't think college basketball is the sport for you," Isaiah Mobley said. "This is a big-time game, round of 32, going into the Sweet 16, playing against a blue-blood school that we were supposed to play initially anyways. And I've got a couple buddies on the other team, so overall it's a prideful fun experience that I'm looking forward to."