Trojans commit 22 turnovers but still beat Colorado State, showing their flaws and potential

The USC Trojans walked away from Arizona with a victory over the Colorado State Rams at the Jerry Colangelo Classic.

The Trojans’ defense buckled down and the offense excelled down the stretch to get the 73-64 win as they prepare for Pac-12 Conference play.

However, it wasn’t all pretty for the Trojans. After a statement win against Auburn, there are some areas USC needs to clean up if the Men of Troy want to hang around at the top of the Pac-12.

The biggest issue of concern for USC on the evening was the turnovers. Andy Enfield’s team committed 22 turnovers while the Rams turned the ball over 13 times.

Being minus-nine in turnover differential yet winning by nine points shows what USC is capable of if it can make improvements in certain areas of play. We know USC struggles with turnovers, and that offense comes and goes. However, when Drew Peterson hits shots — as he did in the second half — the Trojans rarely lose. When USC gets its teeth into an opponent on defense, as it did versus Colorado State, it rarely loses.

CSU hit just 37.7 percent of its shots, and that number was near 30 percent before the Rams — down by 16 early in the second half — made a desperate rally which never got closer than five points (48-43) in the game’s final 11 minutes.

For some perspective, USC came into the game averaging just 12.6 turnovers per game, so 22 is awfully high for any given night. Of the 11 USC players who played in the contest, eight of them committed at least one turnover, and five had three or more turnovers in a noticeably sloppy outing.

Yes, the Trojans won the game, but taking care of the ball will be of utmost importance as they battle day in and day out in a difficult Pac-12 Conference.

USC held multiple double-digit leads in the game, but constant turnovers allowed Colorado State to hang around longer than the Rams should have.

Enfield must be pleased with the victory, but cleaning up the turnovers should be a focal point over the next couple of weeks.

What’s positive for USC is that Tre White really seems to be figuring things out. White stuffed the stat sheet and made a lot of different contributions in 32 minutes: 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals. He helped out in a lot of different ways. If that’s the player USC will get in Pac-12 play, the Trojans should be in good shape.

What was also good about this game: hustle plays. USC has to make the “effort plays” which add possessions and limit the opponent’s opportunties. USC got nine steals and outrebounded Colorado State 38-26. Those are the kinds of stats which will offset 22 turnovers.

If USC can just cut down the turnovers while maintaining a high level of effort, good things are possible for the Pac-12 season, which starts with a Washington road trip to Seattle and Pullman on New Year’s weekend.

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Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire