Men's Basketball | November 20, 2018

The USC Trojans (2-2) will face the Missouri State Bears (3-1) in the NABC Hall of Fame Classic third-place game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 20 at 4:00 p.m. (PT). The game will air on ESPN3.

USC FALLS TO TTU IN NABC OPENER - Texas Tech made 10 of its first 11 shots after halftime to erase a 9-point deficit at the break and went on to defeat USC 78-63 in the first-round of the NABC Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 19.  TTU made 84.2 percent of its shots in the second half, after being held to 27.3 percent in the first half.  USC led 32-23 at halftime.  Kevin Porter Jr. led USC with 15 points and Bennie Boatwright added 14.  USC committed 17 turnovers which led to 19 TTU points and was outscored 22-8 from the free throw line.  TTU scored 18 points from the free throw line in the second half.  USC outrebounded TTU 31-28, but was outscored 36-20 on points in the paint. Nick Racovecic finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds to snap his double-double streak at five games, three-in-a row this season. Texas Tech made 16 of 19 second-half shots, with one of the misses being a heave from near halfcourt as the shot clock expired. The game was tied at 52-all with 8:23 remaining, but USC was outscored 26-11 the rest of the way.  

BREAKING DOWN MISSOURI STATE - Missouri St. is 3-1 after falling 85-62 to Nebraska in an NABC HOF Classic first-round game on Nov. 19.  Missouri State averages 75.8 points per game, led by Keandre Cook (18.5) and Jarred Dixon (17.0).  USC won its only previous meeting with Missouri St. 83-75 on Dec. 22, 2016.

CSU BAKERSFIELD ON DECK - The Trojans' next game will be against CSU Bakersfield (3-2) at the Galen Center on Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. The Roadrunners are coming off a 68-67 win over Weber State, as Damiyne Durham hit a 3-pointer with 5.0 seconds remaining. The game was played in The Bahamas as part of the Junkanoo Jam. Durham averages 11.3 points per game and Jarkel Joiner averages 12.2 points per game.  USC won its only other meeting with CSU Bakersfield 63-59 on Dec. 15, 2013.

WESTPHAL TO THE HALL - USC great Paul Westphal was inducted into the NABC Hall of Fame on Nov. 18. Westphal played at USC from 1970-72 and averaged 16.4 points per game, ninth-best in school history, before going on to an all-star career as both a player and coach in the NBA. While at USC, Westphal was a two-time All-Pac-8 first-team selection and was named to the 1972 Helms Athletic Fund All-America team.  The 1971 Trojans went 24-2, posting the best winning percentage all-time by a USC team of 92.3 percent.  He served as USC's team captain for the 1972 season and led the Trojans with a 20.3 scoring average.  USC retired his No. 25 jersey on January 18, 2007 and he was inducted into the Trojan Athletic HOF on May 17, 1997.

THE MAGIC MARKER - With the 95-59 win over Stetson on Nov. 14, USC has now won 33 consecutive games in which it allows 70 points or less.

RAKOCEVIC DOUBLE-DOUBLE STREAK SNAPPED - Junior forward Nick Rakocevic scored 9 points and had 9 rebounds vs. Texas Tech on Nov. 19, snapping a streak of five consecutive double-doubles dating back to last season.  Still, in his last six games he has averaged 16.2 points (97 total) and 14.0 rebounds (84 total) in those games. He became the first USC player to record three double-doubles to start a  season since Sam Clancy did it to start the 2001-02 season. His five consecutive double-doubles were the most by a USC player since Nikola Vucevic had eight-straight during the 2011 season.

BOATWRIGHT NETS 1,000TH CAREER POINT - USC senior Bennie Boatwright scored 14 points vs. TTU on Nov. 19 to give him 1,008 career points scored.