USC suffered a 59-46 loss to Virginia Commonwealth in a First Four game of the NCAA tournament.

The Trojans fought back from a 10-point deficit to bring the margin to just one point at 44-43, with 7:41 to go, but were stymied again when the Rams switched to a zone defense.

The Trojans proceeded to score three points the rest of the way, and the Rams scored 15 of the final 18 points to clinch the victory and a trip to Chicago to face No. 6-seeded Georgetown on Friday night at the United Center.

So, yes, it's safe to say the Trojans imploded when faced with a zone defense, much the way they have over the last two seasons under Kevin O'Neill.

USC forward Nikola Vucevic finished with 11 points on just five attempts from the field.