The USC Trojans (6-3) are hosting the CS Fullerton Titans (4-4) at the Galen Center at 8:00 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with J.B.Long and Don MacLean calling the action.
FACING CS FULLERTON — The CS Fullerton Titans (4-4) are coming off a 69-62 loss at Seattle on Nov. 30. This will be CS Fullerton’s fifth true road game of the season. Senior guard Jalen Harris leads four Titans scoring in double figures with a 15.7 average. USC leads the all-time series with CS Fullerton 6-0, winning the last meeting 84-42 on Nov. 10, 2017.
LONG BEACH STATE ON DECK — USC’s next game will be vs. Long Beach State (4-4) at the Galen Center on Dec. 14 at 8:00 p.m. Long Beach State lost its last game 88-78 at Utah Valley on Dec. 3 and will play at Sacramento State on Dec. 10 before facing USC. Long Beach State like USC played in a tournament in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving, with The Beach going 2-1 at the Baha Mar Hoops tournament from Nov. 25-27. Senior guard Joel Murray leads Long Beach State in scoring with a 13.6 average. Former USC assistant coach Jason Hart’s son, Jason Hart Jr., is a freshman on the team. USC defeated Long Beach State 73-62 last season on Dec. 12 and leads the all-time series 11-6.
MONTH OF MERRIMENT — USC won its first game this month and has gone 15-2 during the month of December the last four seasons. USC won all 6 games last December.
IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE — USC held California to 27.7 percent shooting on Nov. 30, the lowest by an opponent since holding Stanford to a 25.4 shooting percentage on March 3, 2021. USC has held 6 of its 9 opponents this season to 37.5 percent shooting or less. USC held 22 of its 34 opponents during the 2021-22 season to under 40 percent shooting. USC held the opposition to a 39.0 shooting percentage during the season, 14th in the country. USC is holding its opponents to a 37.4 shooting percentage this season, 23rd in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC’s defense has held the opposition to 38.7 FG percentage, 3rd in the country.
MORGAN HOSTING USC’S BLOCK PARTY — USC has 58 blocks in the first nine games of the 2022-23 season, led by Joshua Morgan’s 32 blocks. USC is averaging 6.4 blocks per game, 4th in the country. Morgan’s 32 blocks this season rank second in the country. Morgan had 7 blocks vs. FGCU on Nov. 7 which tied him for fifth on USC’s all-time single game blocks list. He matched that total with 7 blocks at Cal on Nov. 30. His 32 blocks this season are more than the Trojans’ leader in that category during the 2021-22 season (Isaiah Mobley – 29). USC as a team has registered 528 blocks over the last four seasons which ranks 6th nationally.
IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAYS, PETERSON IS GIVING TO ALL — Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is second among Pac-12 players with 57 assists, which ranks tied for seventh nationally. Peterson is the only player nationally averaging at least 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season. Peterson is averaging 14.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game. His 3 double-doubles this season are tied for 28th in the country.
YOU CAN CALL ME JOHNSON — Sophomore guard Kobe Johnson keyed USC’s comeback from an 11-point halftime deficit to win 63-62 over Oregon State on Dec. 4. Johnson scored a career-high 17 points, made a career-best 3 three-pointers and matched a personal best with 5 steal. In the last 5 games he has averaged 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.3 steals.
ELLIS LEADS USC IN SCORING – Senior guard Boogie Ellis is averaging 15.4 points per game this season and leads USC with 18 three-pointers made. He was the only Trojan to score in double figures in the first seven games this season, before totaling 13 points the last two games. He also has a team-leading 31 free throws made and is second on the team with 13 steals.
TROJANS OPEN PAC-12 PLAY 2-0 — With the 63-62 home win over Oregon State on Dec. 4, USC improved to 2-0 to start Pac-12 play this season. It is the third time since the 2011 season that USC has won its first two conference games. In the last 20 seasons USC has begun conference play 3-0 just once (last season).
SATURDAY IN THE PARK…? — Well, maybe USC should spend Saturdays in the park as they will not be in the arena playing a game on Saturday until Jan. 14 vs. Utah. With the win over Oregon State on Sunday, Dec. 4, USC has played on every day of the week except Saturday and will play its first 17 games on any day but Saturday. Seven of USC’s final 14 games will be played on Saturdays.
