No. 5 USC Men's Basketball Hosts Oregon Saturday
The No. 5 USC Trojans (14-1, 4-1) will host the Oregon Ducks (10-6, 3-2) at the Galen Center on Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. The game will air on FS1 with Jim Kozimor and Dave Miller calling the action. USC's 14-1 start to the season is its best since 2017, when USC also opened the campaign 14-1. USC was 15-1 after 16 games in 2017. USC and Baylor both lost hours apart on Tuesday becoming the last two schools to pick up a loss in the 2021-22 men's basketball season. USC and Oregon are the Pac-12 leaders in conference wins over the last five seasons (50).
HIGHEST RANKING SINCE 1974 -- USC is ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll this week, its highest regular season ranking since also being ranked No. 5 on Dec. 30, 1974.
FAST STARTS -- USC's 13-0 start to the 2021-22 season tied for the fourth-best start by the Trojans in school history (also in 1940). USC's best start of a season was 17-0 in 1910, followed by 16-0 in 1971 and the 14-0 start to the 2017 season. USC's 3-0 start in Pac-12 play before Tuesday's loss was its best since beginning the 2002 conference season at 5-0.
STREAKS - USC's 13-game winning streak before losing on Jan. 11 at Stanford tied for the 6th longest in school history.
FACING OREGON -- Oregon (10-6, 3-2) is coming off a 84-81 overtime win at UCLA on Jan. 13. Oregon has won its last four games. The Ducks have three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by guard Will Richardson at 13.6 points per game. USC has a 66-58 all-time record against Oregon (2 wins were vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 68-58). Last season USC defeated Oregon 72-58 at home and 82-68 in the NCAA Sweet 16. USC has won six of its last eight games against Oregon.
USC'S DEFENSIVE EDGE -- Stanford made an opponent high 43.9 percent of its shots against USC on Jan. 11, and each of USC's last three opponents have shot slightly over 40 percent. USC held its first 12 opponents to under 40 percent shooting, the first team in 15 seasons to accomplish the feat. For the season, USC has held the opposition to 36.6 percent shooting which ranks third in the country.
CHEVEZ GETS OFFENSIVE ON THE BOARDS -- Nine of Chevez Goodwin's 12 rebounds vs. Oregon State on Jan. 13 were on the offensive end of the court. His nine offensive boards were the most by a Trojan in a game since Taj Gibson grabbed 10 on Nov. 2008 vs. Seton Hall. The last time USC had a player register more offensive rebounds in a Pac-12 game was when Nick Young had 10 vs. Oregon State on Feb. 25, 2006.
PETERSON SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT -- USC guard Drew Peterson scored 17 points vs. Oregon State on Thursday to give him 1,007 career points, 491 as a Trojan and 516 at Rice during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
USC RALLIES TO BEAT OREGON STATE -- USC scored the final 11 points to overcome a hot-shooting Oregon State team and earn a 81-71 win at the Galen Center on Jan. 13. USC took its first lead of the game at 57-56 with 10:33 remaining in the game, after trailing 42-37 at the half and by 10 points early into the second half. The Beavers, who shot 43.5 percent for the game, made 57.7 percent of their shots in the first half and 33.3 percent in the second half. OSU was hot from beyond the arc all night, making an opponent-high 52.9 percent from 3-point range. Chevez Goodwin led the USC comeback with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Trailing 41-51 at the 16:49 mark of the second half, USC went on a 24-8 run over the next 7:39 to go up 65-59, punctuated on a 3-pointer by Reese Dixon-Waters who scored 7 points in that stretch. OSU didn't go away though as Jarod Lucas hit back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game. After a Goodwin dunk and a Drew Peterson 3-pointer gave USC a 70-67 lead, OSU scored the next 4 points to make it 71-70 OSU with 3:55 remaining. Isaiah Mobley scored the next 6 points to lead USC's 11-0 run to end the game. Peterson added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Lucas led OSU with 27 points, making 6 of 10 three-pointers.
COLORADO ON DECK -- USC's next game will be at Colorado (11-4, 3-2) on Jan. 20 at 5:30 p.m. MT. Colorado had its five-game winning streak snapped in its last game, a 76-55 loss at Arizona on Jan. 13. The Buffaloes will play at Arizona State on Jan. 15 before hosting USC. Sophomore forward Jabari Walker leads three Colorado players in double figures with a 12.7 scoring average. Colorado handed USC three of its eight losses last season and has won seven consecutive games against the Trojans. USC last defeated Colorado 75-64 on Feb. 21, 2018 in Boulder, Colo. USC is 7-16 all-time against Colorado.
BIG MEN, BIG NUMBERS -- Big men Isaiah Mobley and Chevez Goodwin have been at the forefront of USC's success so far this season and currently are the top two scorers and rebounders on the team. Mobley is averaging a near double-double with a team-leading 15.1 points per game and a team-high 9.2 rebounds per contest. He currently ranks tied for 27th in the country in rebounds per game. Goodwin is the Trojans' second-leading scorer at 13.4 points per game and is second on the team with 7.1 rebounds per game. Goodwin's 64.2 shooting percentage is best among USC's players with at least five shots attempted and ranks sixth in the country. Mobley ranks first and Goodwin eighth among Pac-12 players in rebounds per game.
OH BROTHER! -- The younger brother of USC guard Reggie Parris, Brady Parris, is a guard on the Oregon Ducks' team. Herb Parris and Kim Huskins-Parris, their parents, will be in attendance tonight.