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No, Bronny James and USC will not be playing in March Madness this season as the Trojans failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. The son of LA Lakers superstar LeBron James was, by far, the biggest storyline in college basketball this season as there was constant attention on him.
However, the Trojans(15-18) being excluded from the list of 68 teams should come as no surprise as they needed a late-season miracle, winning a Pac-12 Tournament title, to reach the postseason.
While they entered the conference tournament riding a season's best three-game winning streak and knocked off the Washington Huskies 80-74 in their opening game on Wednesday, the Trojans suffered a 70-49 blowout loss to the then-sixth-ranked Arizona Wildcats the next day.
Given their late-season surge and the draw of Bronny James, the Trojans could be considered for the National Invitation Tournament or the College Basketball Invitational, although there have been no updates as to whether USC has received an invite to either.
Even so, James could opt out of playing, if USC gets invited. He may, instead, focus on preparing for the 2024 NBA draft.
Why is USC not playing in March Madness?
Bronny James' March Madness ambitions got thwarted as the USC Trojans finished with an under .500 season, managing to string together 15 wins on their way to a 15-18 season. This put the Trojans virtually out of March Madness contention, with a Pac-12 title being their only hope.
However, the Trojans were eliminated from contention following a 21-point blowout against the first-seeded Arizona. Fans hoping to see Bronny James in March Madness will have to wait another season at least, as the Trojans will now head into the off-season, after reportedly declining an invite to the NIT.
An anonymous NBA executive is grading Bronny James on a curve
Bronny James did not have a great season as he averaged 4.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks per game. He did so while shooting 37.4% from the field, 27.3% from 3-point range and 67.6% from the free-throw line. Despite this, an anonymous NBA executive, in a recent ESPN article, said the USC Trojans guard should be graded on a curve:
"You miss four months of the offseason and try to rush back, that's really tough to do. So I grade him on a heavy curve, personally. I imagine from a basketball perspective, the best thing would have been for him to not play because he missed so much time over the summer to adjust to college basketball, and you get thrown in the middle with this kind of weird team that wasn't functioning anyways.
"I thought it made for what I think ended up being a clunky situation in every direction. To the kid's credit, I think he did his best."
Check out the Western Conference executive's comments on Bronny James below:
James missed the first 10 games of the season after suffering a cardiac arrest in July. It is unclear if he will enter the 2024 NBA draft or look to continue developing at the collegiate level.
