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Eric Musselman criticizes Chad Baker-Mazara after fouling out vs. Northwestern: 'It's unheard of'

On3 imageby: Dan Morrison01/22/26dan_morrison96

The USC Trojans dropped their second game in a row on Wednesday night, this time to Northwestern. After the game, frustration seemed to boil over for head coach Eric Musselman.

Musselman called out veteran star Chad Baker-Mazara for fouling out. That put the Trojans in a difficult situation, and it’s something he’d generally like to see experienced players avoid.

“I want to know how he fouls out,” Musselman said. “And I’m not even disagreeing with the refs. I mean, that’s on Chad. He’s a sixth-year player. He’s got 14 points and he fouls out in 13 minutes. It’s unheard of.”

Baker-Mazara finished the game playing in 14 minutes and scoring 14 points. He also had two rebounds and two assists. Without him, Musselman was forced to turn to the bench. There, he found Jordan Marsh, who had 19 points in 22 minutes. Then, freshman Jerry Easter had 19 minutes, but struggled, only scoring one point with one assist and six rebounds.

As a team, USC committed 19 personal fouls. The Trojans also shot significantly more free throws than Northwestern did. USC had 43 free throws compared to just 18 from Northwestern. Still, they’d lose by six points.

“As a staff, we’ve got to do a way, way better job teaching guys to defend without fouling. We were undisciplined. We go for shot fakes. Like I said, at the end of the half,” Musselman said. “And I mean, I never saw an Arkansas player or a Nevada player gamble like that, that I can ever remember. Two crucial plays. All you need is one second stop.”

USC is the fifth team that Baker-Mazara has played for in his career. His first stop was at Duquesne in the 2020-21 season. He later played for San Diego State, made a stop in JUCO, and then jumped up to Auburn. While at Auburn, he had plenty of success, being named Third-Team All-SEC.

This season at USC, Baker-Mazara has played in 19 games and started in 16. He’s averaging 29.7 minutes per game, making him a key player for the Trojans. He’s averaging 18.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game.

Eric Musselman, Chad Baker-Mazara, and the rest of USC are looking to bounce back on Sunday with a road trip against Wisconsin. There, the Trojans look to snap a two-game losing streak.