No. 15 USC Men's Basketball Opens 3-Game Homestand With Arizona State Monday

The No. 16 USC Trojans (16-2, 6-2) will host the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-10, 2-4) at the Galen Center on Jan. 24 at 8:00 p.m.  The game will air on the ESPN2 with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton calling the action. USC's 16-2 start to the season is its best since the 1970-71 team began 17-1 en route to a 24-2 record.  That team began 24-1. 

FACING ARIZONA STATE -- Arizona State (6-10, 2-4) is coming off a 79-76 loss at Stanford on Jan. 22. D.J. Horne leads three Sun Devils in double figure scoring with a 13.6 average.  USC leads the all-time series 57-42 (2 wins in 2008 vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 59-42).  USC has won its last three meetings with ASU, including 89-71 at home and 73-64 in Tempe, Ariz. last season. ASU coach Bobby Hurley and Sun Devil player Jay Heath are suspended for the game against USC for verbally confronting the officials after their game at Stanford.

TROJANS FLEX DEFENSIVE MUSCLE -- USC held Colorado to 31.4 percent shooting on Jan. 20, snapping a streak of four consecutive opponents shooting over 40 percent from the field against the Trojans. USC then held Utah to 36.1 percent shooting on Jan. 22.  In the four previous games played following a pause due to Covid-19 (following the game on Dec. 18 vs. GT), the Trojans allowed the opposition to shoot 44.6 percent (103-for-231)  from the floor.  USC held all 12 of its opponents prior to that under 40 percent shooting in each game and to a combined 35.2 shooting percentage, which was second in the country.  The Trojans were the first team in the last 15 seasons to hold its first 12 opponents to under 40 percent shooting in each game.   Still, for the season USC has held its opponents to 37.0 percent shooting, sixth-best in the country.

PETERSON LEADS USC IN WIN AT UTAH -- Drew Peterson made a season-best five 3-pointers and scored a season-best 23 points to help lead No. 16 USC to a 79-67 win at Utah on Jan. 22. The win completed the tough Mountain schools road trip sweep, only the second time for the Trojans since the schools joined the conference in 2011.  USC defeated Colorado, 61-58, in Boulder on Thursday. Peterson was 5-for-5 from 3-point range which tied for the third most makes without a miss from beyond the arc ever by a Trojan.  He was 9 of 10 from the field overall and also grabbed seven rebounds. Boogie Ellis had 18 points and Isaiah Mobley scored 10 with six boards and five assists. USC jumped out to a 14-point lead behind 12 first-half points by Ellis, but Utah finished the half on a 13-4 run to make it 35-30 at the break.  USC responded with a 21-8 run after the break to take control of the game.  USC made 50.9 percent of its shots, while holding Utah to 36.1 percent shooting.  USC outrebounded Utah 42-31, outscored them 40-20 on points in the paint and 15-6 on second chance points.  Gabe Madsen led Utah with five 3-pointers made and a career-best 20 points scored.  USC had 18 assists, it most since having a season-best 23 vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 13.

GOOD TO SEE AND HEAR YOU --In its three games without fans in attendance (at Stanford and home vs. OSU and Oregon), USC allowed an average of 75.0 points per game.  In the other 15 games, USC has held the opposition to 61.1 points per game. In the three games without crowds, USC led one of those games by a point and trailed in the other two at the half. USC only trailed at the break in 2 other games all season.

STANFORD ON DECK -- USC's next game will be vs. Stanford (11-6, 4-3) on Jan. 27.  Stanford is coming off a 79-76 home win vs. ASU on Jan. 22.  Freshman forward Harrison Ingram leads three Cardinal scoring in double figures with an 11.5 average. Stanford handed USC its first loss this season, a 75-69 defeat in Palo Alto on Jan. 11 in a rescheduled game from Jan. 8, when the Cardinal had Covid-19 issues. The all-time series is tied 128-128 (1 USC win vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 129-128).  USC has won its last five home games against Stanford.  

KING OF THE ROAD - With its win at Utah on Jan. 22, USC has started 6-1 on the road with wins at Temple, FGCU, WSU, California, Colorado and Utah.  USC's six true road wins are the most by any power conference team.  USC was 7-3 in road games last season.

LEADERS OF THE PAC -- USC is tied for first in Pac-12 conference games for the most conference victories the past five seasons (since the 2017-18 season).  USC is 52-30 in conference games during that stretch, while Oregon is 52-27, UCLA is third at 50-29, Arizona is fourth at 49-31 and Colorado is fifth at 45-33.

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 team-leading 14.8 points per game and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per contest. Goodwin is the Trojans' second-leading scorer at 12.8 points per game and is second on the team with 7.5 rebounds per game.  Mobley ranks first and Goodwin fourth among Pac-12 players in rebounds per game. 

MOST IMPROVED? - Chevez Goodwin has started all 18 games and is averaging 12.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and ranks 12th in the country in shooting percentage (60.8). Last season, Goodwin averaged 5.6 points and 3.5 rebounds and made one start. Goodwin had 18 rebounds at Colorado on Jan. 20, the most by a Trojan since Nick Rakocevic also had 18 vs. Vanderbilt on Nov. 11, 2018.  Also, his 9 offensive rebounds on Jan. 13 were the most by a Trojan since Taj Gibson had 10 on Nov. 20, 2008 vs. Seton Hall.