USC Men's Basketball Closes Homestand Hosting Washington State Saturday
The USC Trojans (10-2, 4-1) will host the Washington State Cougars (9-3, 2-3) at the Galen Center on Jan. 16 at 6:30 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with Roxy Bernstein and Don MacLean calling the action. USC has won a season high five consecutive games and has won seven of its last eight games. USC has won its last four Pac-12 Conference games and has not won five consecutive Conference games since winning six consecutive Pac-12 games during the 2018 season (Jan. 10-28).
FACING WASHINGTON STATE -- Washington State (9-3, 2-3) is coming off a 91-61 loss at UCLA on Jan. 14. Isaac Bonton leads Washington State in scoring with an 18.2 points per game average. USC has won its last eight games against the Cougars and leads the all-time series 77-48.
USC ROUTS UW IN WIRE-TO-WIRE WIN -- Isaiah Mobley scored a career-high 18 points, Evan Mobley added 17 points and USC routed Washington 95-68 at the Galen Center on Jan. 14. The 27-point win was USC's largest margin of victory over Washington since winning 85-56 on March 8, 2001. The Trojans jumped on the Huskies from the opening tip, scoring seven straight points. The Mobleys dominated an early stretch, combining for 12 consecutive points that gave USC a 22-8 lead. The Trojans made their first seven shots, while holding the Huskies to a 3 for 13 start. The Trojans led 44-23 at halftime as they held UW to 25.0 percent shooting. The Huskies cut their deficit to 14 points to open the second half, but USC responded with a 9-0 run and Noah Baumann added a three-pointer that kept the Trojans ahead by 24.
OREGON STATE ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against Oregon State (5-5, 1-3) on Jan. 19 at 4:00 p.m. in Corvallis, Ore. The Beavers will host Arizona State on Jan. 16 before taking on the Trojans. The game was originally scheduled for Dec. 20, but the game was postponed after a a confirmed case of COVID-19 within the USC men's basketball program shut down the Trojans' activity from Dec. 13-26. Ethan Thompson leads OSU in scoring with a 16.0 average. USC leads the all-time series 74*-65 (2 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 76-65). USC won the only meeting last season a 75-55 victory in Corvallis.
MAGIC MARKER -- With the 95-68 win against Washington on Jan. 14, USC is now 78-4 in its last 82 games when holding the opposition to under 70 points scored dating back to Feb. 28, 2015.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE -- USC has held its opponents to 36.1 percent shooting this season, second-best in the country. USC's opponents have shot over 40 percent from the field three times in the first 12 games, with the highest shooting percentage being 45.1 percent by California Baptist in the season opener.
TROJANS TELLING TALL TALE -- USC hopes that height translates into success as eight players on the roster are 6-7 or taller. According to KenPom.com, USC's roster is the tallest in the country with an average height of 79.6 inches.
A NEW DAY HAS DAWNED -- With the turnover to USC's roster since last season and the time missed due to injury by Ethan Anderson, 78.5 percent (732 points) of USC's 933 points scored this season have come from players who did not suit up for USC during the 2019-20 season.
EVAN MOBLEY NEAR THE TOP OF THE PAC -- USC freshman forward currently ranks among the Pac-12's top players in scoring (9th, 16.3 ppg), rebounds (1st, 8.8), field goal percentage (5th, .598) and blocks (1st, 38).
USC HOSTING BLOCK PARTY -- USC has had 74 blocks in its first 12 games for an average of 6.2 blocks per game, second in the country. Freshman Evan Mobley is averaging 3.2 blocks per game, seventh in the country and second among freshmen. Mobley has 14 blocks in his last three games. Mobley already ranks 8th on USC's all-time freshman blocks list (38).
EFFICIENT OFFENSE -- USC is second among Pac-12 with an 77.8 scoring average and is first with a +13.8 scoring margin. USC also leads all Pac-12 teams with a 47.6 shooting percentage this season.
PLAYING PAINT BALL -- USC has outrebounded its opponents 502-407 through the first 12 games and has outscored the opposition 430-274 on points scored in the paint.
LIKE NIGHT AND DAY -- In its 10 wins, USC is shooting 49.6 percent from the floor (291-for-587) and in its two losses is shooting 37.2 percent (42-for-113). USC has also outrebounded or had the same amount of boards as the opposition in all 10 of the wins (109 more total rebounds) and was outrebounded in both of its losses (14 less total rebounds).
MOBLEY NAMED TO MIDSEASON WOODEN AWARD WATCH LIST -- USC freshman forward Evan Mobley was named to the 25-man Wooden Award Midseason Watch List for the top men's collegiate basketball player. Mobley is one of four freshmen on the list.
CLANCY TO BE GUEST ANALYST -- Two-time All-Pac-10 forward and 2002 Second Team All-American Sam Clancy will be the guest analyst on the USC-WSU broadcast on Jan. 16. Clancy will join "the voice of Trojan basketball" Jordan Moore for the call on flagship station KABC 790 AM. Clancy ranks third on USC's all-time scoring list with 1,657 career points.
A DOUBLE DOSE OF MOBLEY PLEASE -- USC brothers Evan (5) and Isaiah Mobley (4) rank first and second respectively in double-doubles this season by Pac-12 players. They also rank first (Evan, 8.8) and fourth (Isaiah, 7.6) in rebounding. Evan is averaging 16.2 points per game and Isaiah is averaging 10.4 points per contest.