On February 16, at 7:00 p.m., the USC Trojans (17-8, 9-5) will play the California Golden Bears (3-22, 2-12) at the Galen Center. The game was originally scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m. Alex Faust and Casey Jacobsen will be the game’s announcers on FS1.
The last three seasons, USC has won a school-record 73 games (22 in 2020, 25 in 2021, and 26 in 2022). 71 wins in three consecutive seasons was the previous school record. The school record for most consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins, set from 2016 to 2018, is also equal to the three seasons with 20 or more wins.
WINNING WAYS: USC’s 73 wins over the previous three seasons ranked third among Power 6 basketball programs, behind only Kansas (83 wins) and Baylor (81 wins), which won the NCAA title last year. Additionally, USC ranked 13th out of all Power 6 conference teams with 160 wins over the previous seven seasons.
Enfield has won 200th as head coach of the USC program. In his tenth season at USC, Andy Enfield has a record of 200-126. He won his 200th game against Washington on February 4. Enfield’s win total is fourth on USC’s all-time wins list, behind only Forrest Twogood (251 wins), Bob Boyd (216 wins), and Sam Barry (260 wins). Enfield has a 241-154 record, including his two seasons as head coach at FGCU (2012-13).
FACING CALIFORNIA — The California Golden Bears are 3-22 and 2-12, having lost to Arizona State in overtime 70-62 on Feb. 11 at home. In its last nine games, California has lost. Devin Askew, a junior guard, scores the most for California, averaging 15.5 points per game. On November 30, USC defeated California 66-51 in the Bay Area to extend its winning streak against the Golden Bears to nine games. USC is 131-136* behind in the series all-time, with one loss that was overturned by a NCAA penalty (original record 132-136).
STANFORD ON DECK — On February 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Galen Center, USC will play the Stanford Cardinal (11-14, 5-9). Stanford defeated then-No. 1 Stanford 88-79 at home. Arizona on February 11 In their last eight games, the Cardinal have won six. Spencer Jones, a senior forward, is Stanford’s leading scorer with 13.7 points per game. Stanford and USC have never met before this season. Last season, USC suffered defeats of 64-61 at home and 75-69 at Stanford. USC is 128-129 behind in the series all-time (one win was canceled due to a NCAA penalty, the previous record was 129-129).
LET’S GET STARTED WITH THE DEFENSE: On November 30, USC held California to a 27.7 percent shooting percentage, its lowest mark since holding Stanford to a 25.4 percent shooting percentage on March 3, 2021. Oregon was the first team this season to make more than 50% of its shots against USC, making 53.8% of its attempts. This season, USC has prevented its opponents from shooting over 40% in 14 of its 25 games. This season, USC is holding its opponents to a 39.1 shooting percentage—tenth in the nation. USC’s defense has held opponents to a 3rd-place 38.9 field goal percentage over the past four seasons.
LEADERS OF THE PAC: USC has finished third among Pac-12 teams in wins during the regular season for the past six seasons (since the 2017-18 season). Through games on Feb. 12, USC is 69-39, Arizona is 72-37, and UCLA is 72-35 in that stretch. Oregon (67-40) and Colorado (60-49) would come in next.
ENJOYING THE HOME COOKING: This season, USC is 12-1 at the Galen Center, winning the first 12 games and losing to FGCU on Nov. 7. Since the Trojans won their first 15 games at the Galen Center in the 2015-16 season, USC’s 12-game home winning streak is the longest in a single season.
PETERSON GIVING THE ASSIST: With 113 assists, guard Drew Peterson leads the Pac-12 and leads USC. Peterson and Penn State’s Jalen Pickett are the only Power 6 players this season to average at least 13.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. In each game, Peterson is averaging 13.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. In his second game as a Trojan, Peterson failed to record a rebound in the game against Oregon, snapping an 88-game streak in which he had at least one. On Feb. 11, he scored eight rebounds against Oregon State.
JEKYLL & HYDE FROM THE OUTSIDE — In its eighth game this season, USC made at least 38% of its 3-point attempts against Washington State on February 2. USC has made 45.5 percent of its 3-pointers (75-for-165) in those eight games, while it has averaged 23.2 percent (65-for-280) from beyond the arc in the other 17 games. At Oregon State on Feb. 11, USC made just one of 14 three-point attempts (.071), its lowest three-point shooting performance since Andy Enfield’s time as head coach.
When fully loaded, USC has a 5-1 record in games where it has access to the entire roster. That stretch includes three victories over Pac-12 teams in the top five. When the entire roster was available, USC lost to Arizona, which has a record of 32-1 in its last 33 home games. The Trojans’ first 16 games of the season were missed by forward Vincent Iwuchukwu, while guard Reese Dixon-Waters (left foot) and forward Joshua Morgan (right ankle) were both injured against Washington State on Feb. 2.
Toeing the line: On Jan. 21 against Arizona State, USC made all 14 of its free throw attempts, which tied for the third most in school history for a game without a missed free throw. USC ended a streak of five games in a row in which it shot at least 70% from the charity stripe on Jan. 19 against Arizona. This was USC’s longest such streak since an eight-game stretch during the 2016-17 season. This season, USC has made 74.0 percent of its free throws, its highest team FT percentage since the 2017 team made 74.1 percent. In the previous 15 seasons, USC’s free throw percentage was greater than 70% twice per season.
