5 things to watch as USC women's basketball hits the road vs Minnesota

In my preview of USC women's basketball's last game versus Oregon, I outlined that it is very important for USC to win the games it is favored in:

"The Big Ten has established itself as an extremely deep and talented conference in women's basketball," I wrote. "But there's also been a decent amount of parity in the conference so far: only UCLA and Iowa remain undefeated, and each team in the conference has played only a few games. To make the NCAA tournament and earn a top seed, USC needs to finish near the top of the Big Ten standings. It appears the Trojans can afford to lose a few games here and there, but with several Big Ten teams ranked ahead of them in the AP Poll, they will need to consistently avoid being upset to finish as one of the top few teams."

"Can the Trojans take advantage of having a home game against an unranked team and beat Oregon? And can they do that consistently?"

Gut punch

That now reads like cruel foreshadowing. USC did not take care of business against Oregon, despite the fact that they led by 17 points at one point during the game. The loss to the Ducks was disappointing, and it certainly doesn't help that it followed up USC's blowout loss to UCLA.

But in sports, there's always the next day. The Trojans can learn from the Oregon loss, believe they are better than that, and bounce back. It's never easy against Big Ten teams, and USC's next opponent Minnesota is proof of that. But opportunity is opportunity.

Here are five things to watch as the Trojans look to remind everyone who they are against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday in a quick trip to Minneapolis:

Lindsay Gottlieb calls out USC's mindset

Lindsay Gottlieb was as frustrated as I've ever seen her in USC's postgame press conference following the Oregon loss. She remained levelheaded and eloquent as she always is, but called into question not just USC's execution, but effort and attitude. Here are some of the eye-popping things she said after USC's loss:

"From my standpoint, about as upsetting a loss as we've had in this building," Gottlieb said during her opening comments. "I told the players, that's on me, that's on us. It was gross in every way, the way we handled when we had a lead, the way we handled when they were cutting into our lead.

"Obviously I am wildly disappointed," Gottlieb said later. "I respect and trust our players enough to say that to their face and fight to get better."

Gottlieb also called out USC's effort and competitiveness against both UCLA and Oregon, admitting that she doesn't know if the Trojans understand the shift in mindset that needs to take place after such a disappointing performance like USC put up against UCLA. Even senior guard Kara Dunn admitted that USC was too "casual".

Yikes. Whatever USC needs to do to find its competitive edge, they must do it fast.

Will Kennedy Smith be back in the lineup?

Kennedy Smith missed USC's loss to Oregon with a lower leg injury that she suffered versus UCLA. She is considered day-to-day, so a return against Minnesota is certainly possible.

Smith's absence was certainly felt against the Ducks, especially on the defensive end. Katie Fiso had a great game, recording 14 points on 6-12 shooting.

The point in the game that USC most clearly missed Smith was when the Trojans lost their lead in the fourth quarter. Oregon guard Ari Long made three straight three pointers, giving Oregon a late lead with the third of those makes. USC didn't make any of those attempts particularly tough for Long. I don't think three defensive breakdowns in a row against a player on fire like Long was would have happened with Smith on the court.

And Smith wouldn't have tolerated USC's defensive complacency in the second half in general. Let's hope she's well enough to take on the Golden Gophers, because USC needs her.

Is Laura Williams shaking up the forward rotation again?

Against Oregon, USC's forward rotation was really interesting. This is a storyline we've been following all season long, as the Trojans have only young, inexperienced forwards on their roster and USC fans have held out hope that one of them will emerge as a consistent star.

Laura Williams averages only 10.4 minutes per game, fourth-least on the entire USC roster. But on Tuesday, she played 25 minutes (a career high) while starter Gerda Raulusaityte played only 9 minutes. USC's other regular front court starter, Vivian Iwuchukwu, played only 7 minutes.

Williams was decently productive in her 25 minutes, scoring only 5 points but pulling down 9 rebounds and recording an assist and a block. Her 9 rebounds were a career high and she led USC with a +6 rating.

Could Gottlieb give Williams a shot at becoming the starting center? We'll see if her role continues to expand against Minnesota.

Shot selection

Lindsay Gottlieb was also highly critical of USC's shot selection against Oregon in her postgame press conference, and I have to agree with her.

Again, there was a moment down the stretch that magnifies this issue so well. Down by 3 with the ball, freshman guard Jazzy Davidson took a midrange 2 point jumper with 20 seconds left on the clock and 2 defenders on her.

It made absolutely no sense for USC to attempt anything other than a three-pointer in that situation unless they were able to get a quick, wide open shot near the basket.

That was an issue all game long and an issue that has popped up for USC all season. Can the Trojans take smarter shots against the Golden Gophers?

If USC keys on one player, it should be Grace Grocholski

Minnesota doesn't have a primary scorer, per se. The Gophers have 3 players who average 11+ points per game but no players who average more than 13.1 points per contest.

However, when the lights get the brightest and Minnesota is playing its toughest opponents, guard Grace Grocholski consistently steps up.

Grocholski had 31 points against No. 7 Maryland in a 1 point 2OT loss and 22 points against No. 9 Michigan in another close loss. She has 3 other performances of 18+ points this season.

USC needs to make someone other than Grocholski beat them offensively, or they run the risk of being the latest big name team to be pushed to the limit by a signature performance from the junior guard.

Even if they are pushed to the limit, USC just needs to get back in the win column. Can the Trojans respond and beat a tough team in a tough environment?

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC women's basketball faces Minnesota at Williams Arena on Sunday