No. 20 USC Men's Basketball At Washington State Saturday, Seeks 6th Road Win
The USC Trojans (16-3, 10-2) will play at the Washington State Cougars (12-8, 5-8) at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. on Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. The game will air on ESPNU with Dave Feldman and Corey Williams calling the action. USC has won five straight and 11 of its last 12 games. USC's 10-2 start to Pac-12 play is its best since also beginning the 1992 season 10-2 in conference play. USC is 16-3 through its first 19 games for the first time since also beginning 16-3 during the 2017 season. The last time USC started a season 17-3 was the 1992 season.
FACING WASHINGTON STATE -- Washington State (12-8, 5-8) is coming off an 81-73 home win over UCLA on Feb. 11. Guard Isaac Bonton leads Washington State in scoring with an 18.5 points per game average. USC defeated Washington State 85-77 at the Galen Center on Jan. 16. USC has won its last nine games against Washington State and leads the all-time series 78-48. USC has won five consecutive games at Washington State, last losing in Pullman in 2013. Prior to the five-game winning streak in Pullman, USC had lost 9 of 10 games at WSU.
MOBLEY BROTHERS LEAD USC AT WASHINGTON -- Evan Mobley scored 17 points and Isaiah Mobley added 12 points and 12 rebounds as No. 20 USC rolled past Washington 69-54 in Seattle on Feb. 11. USC outscored Washington 46-22 in the paint and held a 41-24 advantage in rebounds. The Trojans outscored Washington 25-7 during a 10-minute stretch spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half. USC closed the first half on an 18-4 run, turning a four-point deficit into a 10-point halftime lead, and pushed the lead to 48-34 in the opening minutes of the second half. Washington never got closer than 9 points the rest of the way. The Huskies had just eight made field goals and nine turnovers in the second half.
STINGY ON DEFENSE -- USC has allowed its last two opponents to score a combined 102 points, its fewest points allowed in consecutive games since also allowing a total of 102 points against Oregon State (W, 61-48) and Oregon (W, 74-54) on March 8 and 9 respectively at the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament. The last time USC allowed fewer than 102 points in consecutive games during the regular season was when it allowed a total of 87 to UC Riverside (W, 70-26) on Dec. 15, 2012 and UC Irvine (L, 54-61) on Dec. 20, 2012.
HOME ON THE ROAD -- USC is 5-1 in Pac-12 road games so far this season. The last time USC started 5-1 in conference road games was the 1992 season.
TROJANS ENTER THE POLLS -- USC is ranked No 20 in this week's AP and Coaches Poll rankings. It is the first time USC has been ranked in either poll since Week 5 of the 2017-18 season when it was ranked No. 25 in both.
ARIZONA STATE ON DECK-- USC's next game will be vs. Arizona State (6-9, 3-6) at the Galen Center on Feb. 17 at 5 p.m. Arizona State is coming off a75-64 home loss against Oregon on Feb. 11 and will host Oregon State on Feb. 13 before traveling to face USC. ASU has four players averaging double figures in points, led by Remy Martin at 18.9 points per game. USC won 73-64 at ASU on Jan. 9, snapping a seven-game losing streak for the Trojans in Tempe. USC leads ASU 6-5 in the last 11 meetings with all games being decided by 10 points or less. USC leads the all-time series with ASU 56*-42.(* 2 wins vacated by NCAA penalty, original record 58-42.)
SCORING MARGIN BEST SINCE 1971 SEASON -- USC has a +12.2 scoring margin which is second among Pac-12 teams. It is also USC's biggest average scoring margin in a season since the 1970-71 team went 24-2 and defeated opponents by an averaged of 14.0 points per game.
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE -- USC has held its opponents to 38.1 percent shooting this season, sixth-best in the country. Stanford's 51.9 percent shooting against USC on Feb. 2 was the only time this season a Trojan opponent shot over 50 percent.
THE SULTANS OF SWAT -- USC has had 106 blocks in its first 19 games for an average of 5.6 blocks per game, seventh in the country. Freshman Evan Mobley is averaging 3.0 blocks per game, 6th in the country and first among freshmen. Mobley already ranks third on USC's all-time freshman blocks list (57) and 10th on the school's all-time top 10 list for a single season.
THE PAINT PATROL -- USC has outrebounded its opponents 776-612 through the first 19 games and has outscored the opposition 662-446 on points scored in the paint. USC's +8.6 rebound margin ranks 15th in the country.
MOBLEY NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER AND FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK -- Freshman Evan Mobley was named Pac-12 Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week for the week of Feb. 1-7. He became the second player (USC's Onyeka Okongwu in 2020) to earn both honors in the same week. Mobley also won the Freshman of the Week honor for the fifth time this season, a Pac-12 record. Mobley averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in USC's wins at Stanford (72-66) and at home vs. UCLA (66-48).
WINNING WAYS - USC's .842 winning percentage is 15th-best in the country.
MAKING ADJUSTMENTS -- USC outscored Washington 28-23 in the second half on Feb. 11. USC has only been outscored by the opposition in the second half in two games this season (Montana & WSU). USC has outscored the opposition by 129 points in the second half and overtime of its 19 games (6.8 points).
HE'S BEEN A GOODWIN -- USC grad transfer forward Chevez Goodwin has been a very valuable addition to the Trojan squad. In 15.4 minutes off the bench per game, he has averaged 6.5 points and 4.1 rebounds. He is third on the team with 30 offensive rebounds and third on the team with eight blocks. His .542 shooting percentage is second among Trojans with at least 10 shots taken this season. Goodwin has scored in double figures four times with a best of 12 this season and has had 10 games with at least five rebounds.