Chad Baker-Mazara injury update: Eric Musselman explains why USC star was not on bench for Illinois game

USC‘s slip to the bubble of the NCAA Tournament continued Wednesday night in LA. Although it had the opportunity to knock off No. 10 Illinois at home and add a monstrous win to its resume, it was blown out 101-65 by the Illini.

Sitting at 18-8 (7-8) heading into the final four games of the season, Eric Musselman‘s team is in grave danger of missing the NCAA Tournament once again. USC forward Chad Baker-Mazara did not play Wednesday night with a knee strain that has kept him ‘day-to-day’.

Along with not suiting up, Baker-Mazara was not even present on the USC bench. When asked why this was, Musselman quickly shut the question down.

“He wasn’t available tonight,” Musselman said. “We’ll take it day-by-day.”

The 26-year-old is currently in the midst of his fifth collegiate season with his fourth different program. His career began at Duquesne (2020-21). He then spent time at San Diego State (2021-22) and Auburn (2023-25) before landing at USC for his final season. In 23 games this year, the Santo Domingo, D.R. native is averaging a career-high 18.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.

Baker-Mazara, USC remain on NCAA Tournament bubble

Missing the Tournament would be a bit of a shock for Baker-Mazara, who has played on three consecutive NCAA Tournament teams. San Diego State was knocked out in the First Round in 2022, a season prior to making a run to the National Championship. Auburn, however, was eliminated in the First Round in 2024 and made a run to the Final Four last season.

“I think it’s always easy to pinpoint effort,” Musselman said after Thursday’s loss. “I’m not sure it was necessarily an effort thing; it was, like I said, we got outplayed. We didn’t have enough shot-making tonight. And they’re a heck of a team.

“And so, unfortunately for us, we seem to be getting teams that are healthy. I thought (Kylan) Boswell was phenomenal for them. He hasn’t played but one game in the last month. (Andrej) Stojakovic hasn’t played in the last few games, he was awesome. … It’s no excuse, it’s reality. The two guys that have been out for them, I thought they were both phenomenal, especially Stojakovic.”

Four of the five teams remaining on USC‘s regular season schedule are unranked opponents (Oregon, UCLA, Washington). The lone ranked team remaining is No. 9 Nebraska, marking a prime opportunity to add another prized Q1 win to USC‘s resume.