Not yet an NCAA lock, but halfway in the door

It’s a great place to be for any college basketball program which hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament for a long time. The USC Trojans aren’t yet a lock, but they’re in that zone where it’s going to be next to impossible to imagine a scenario in which they don’t get in.

After beating Oregon State on Sunday, the Women of Troy are going to find it hard to miss the Big Dance in March.

We offer the reminder that an NCAA Tournament lock is a team which can lose every remaining game on its schedule and still get into the field of 68. USC has four regular season games left plus the Pac-12 Tournament. If USC — hypothetically — lost all five remaining games (four in the regular season, then the Pac-12 tourney opener), there might still be a slight shred of doubt. USC might still be able to squeak in, but of course, that’s precisely the point behind the concept of a lock. A “lock” conveys absolute certainty, zero doubt, about being in the NCAA Tournament.

So, USC very probably needs at least one more win. One more win should get this team into the bracket. USC could lose four games in the next three weeks, but going 1-4 would be a lot better than 0-5. That would significantly reduce any remaining doubt about USC’s status.

If one win pretty much puts USC in the field, we can then take the next step in this progression: Two more wins — just a 2-3 record in the next five games (including the opening game in the Pac-12 Tournament) — would make USC a 100-percent lock, zero questions asked.

We will be ready with our lock post.