No. 25 USC Men's Basketball Ends Road Trip At Florida Gulf Coast Tuesday
The No. 25 USC Trojans (2-0) will play at the FGCU Eagles (1-1) at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. on Nov. 16 at 3 p.m. PT. The game will be on ESPNU with Mike Corey and Corey Williams calling the action. USC head coach Andy Enfield picked up his 200th career victory on Tuesday, 159 with USC and 41 here at FGCU for the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
THE 2021-22 TROJANS -- The USC Trojans return six of their top eight scorers from the 2020-21 team which went 25-8, finished second in the Pac-12 by percentage points and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Gone are leading scorers Evan Mobley (NBA) and Tahj Eaddy (G-League), but back are forwards Isaiah Mobley, Chevez Goodwin and Max Agbonkpolo and guards Ethan Anderson, Drew Peterson and Isaiah White, almost all logging over 500 minutes of action last season. In all, 11 players return and the Trojans have added transfer guard Boogie Ellis, the AAC Co-Sixth Man of the Year, and three new freshmen, including California Gatorade Player of the Year guard Malik Thomas.
WINNING WAYS - USC had a 47-17 record the last two seasons which ranked third among all of the schools in the six power basketball conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12,AAC and the Pac-12). The Trojans went 25-8 during the 2020-21 season and have won 20 or more games in five of the last six seasons under Andy Enfield. The 25 wins last season were tied for the second most in school history, one behind the USC record of 26 wins set in 2017 (26-10). USC's 134 wins in the last six seasons were tied for 15th among all of the Power 6 conference schools.
ROAD WARRIORS - USC's game at Temple on Nov. 13 was its earliet true road game in a season since opening the 2014 season at Utah State. The last time USC began a season with two road games in its first three games of a season was the 2008 season when it opened at home against Mercer, then played at The Citadel and at South Carolina. USC was 7-3 in road games last season.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN - There are a total of 16 players on the 2021-22 USC men's basketball roster. The Trojan team by class are: Seniors (5): Chevez Goodwin (F), Reggie Parris (G), Drew Peterson (G), Amar Ross (G), Isaiah White (G); Juniors (4): Max Agbonkpolo (F), Ethan Anderson (G), Boogie Ellis (G), Isaiah Mobley (F); Sophomores (3): Boubacar Coulibaly (F), Zach Brooker (G), , Josh Morgan (F); Freshman (4): Harrison Hornery (F), Kobe Johnson (F), Malik Thomas (G), Reese Dixon-Waters (G).
FACING FGCU - FGCU (1-1) is coming off an 89-77 loss at Loyola Chicago on Nov. 13. The Eagles are averaging 85.5 points and have made 43.3 percent of their three-pointers in the early going. Tavian Dunn-Martin leads FGCU iin scoring, only playing against Loyola Chicago and scorng 34 points, going 9 of 14 from three-point range. FGCU won its opener 94-57 at home vs. Florida National on Nov. 9. USC head coach Andy Enfield began his head coaching career at FGCU, going 41-28 in two seasons (2012-13) and taking the Eagles to the Sweet Sixteen in 2013. USC defeated FGCU 71-58 on Dec. 29, 2019 in the only other meetings between the schools.
ENFIELD TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE FGCU HALL OF FAME - Andy Enfield and his 2012-13 FGCU basketball team are being inducted into the FGCU Athletics Hall of Fame on Nov. 15, as part of its first-ever class.
USC HOLDS OFF TEMPLE - USC built a 19-point first half lead, but had to withstand a frantic Temple comeback for a 76-71 win at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pa. on Nov. 13. USC led 46-27 at the break and still by 17 at 58-41 nearly seven minutes into the second half, when Temple went on a 13-0 run to cut it to 58-54 at the 9:42 mark. Isaiah Mobley hit a 3-pointer 17 seconds later and USC led by at least 4 points the rest of the way until Temple cut it to 3 at 74-71 with 9 seconds remaining. Drew Peterson then hit a pair of free throws to ice the game. Chevez Goodwin led four Trojans in double figures with 19 points. The game was marred by a total of 46 fouls, 22 on the Trojans. USC had 20 assists on its 27 baskets.
DIXIE STATE ON DECK - Dixie State (1-1) opened the season with a 97-63 loss at Gonzaga on Nov. 9, before winning 83-76 vs. Southern Utah in its home opener on Nov. 12. They will play two games at the CSUN Good Sam Empire Classic on Nov. 19 (Texas State) and 20 (CSUN/Eastern Washington) in Northridge, before facing USC at the Galen Center on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. It is the first-ever meeting in basketball between the two schools.
USC's NBA DRAFT SUCCESS CONTINUES -- Evan Mobley was selected No. 3 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2021 NBA Draft. He became the fifth Trojan ever selected in the top 10 of the draft. Only USC and Florida State have had a player taken in the top 10 in each of the last two NBA Drafts and only USC, FSU, Kentucky and North Carolina have had at least one first-round selection in each of the last three NBA Drafts. USC currently has 10 players on 2021-22 NBA rosters.