Vince Iwuchukwu won’t play against Arizona State, injury bug hits USC hard
This is remarkable, and in a brutal way for USC: Not one, but two key rotation pieces will be out for Saturday’s important bubble game against Arizona State.
CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein received word from a USC spokesperson that Drew Peterson was going to miss the Arizona State game. Just 17 minutes later, he then reported before Saturday’s game that backup big man Vince Iwuchukwu would also miss this outing against the Sun Devils. Both players are carrying back injuries which are evidently severe enough to force them to sit out this gigantic contest. It obviously puts USC at a disadvantage for this game against ASU, but it also raises real concerns about their availability for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament.
Peterson’s injury will force Reese Dixon-Waters to handle a much larger workload in the backcourt. Iwuchukwu’s absence will make it that much more important for starting big man Joshua Morgan to have a high-impact game with extended minutes, and for Kijani Wright — third in the big man rotation — to play meaningful reserve minutes. It will be interesting to see how many minutes Andy Enfield can steal with Wright on the floor, knowing Iwuchukwu isn’t available.
USC's Vince Iwuchukwu (back) is also OUT for tonight's game against Arizona State, per a school spokesman. Averages 5.4 PPG. https://t.co/J7zI3FGNq1
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 5, 2023
