The USC Trojans (13-6, 5-3) will play the Arizona State Sun Devils (15-4, 6-2) at the Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz. on Jan. 21 at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will air on ESPNU with Dave Pasch and Bill Walton calling the action. USC has lost 3 of 5 after winning a season-best 7 games.
FACING ARIZONA STATE — The Arizona State Sun Devils (15-4, 6-2) are coming off a 74-62 home loss to UCLA on Jan. 19, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Desmond Cambridge Jr.(12.3 ppg) and D.J. Horne (12.2 ppg) are leading Arizona State in scoring. USC has won its last five games against Arizona State and leads the all-time series 59-42* (2 wins later vacated by NCAA penalty, original record 61-42). Six of the last 10 games between USC and Arizona State have been decided by 5 points or less. Nine of the last 11 games played between the Trojans and Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz. have been decided by 5 points or less.
No. 5 UCLA ON DECK — USC’s next game will be vs. the UCLA Bruins (17-2, 8-0) at the Galen Center on Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. USC will play at No. 11 Arizona on Jan. 21 before facing USC. Jaime Jaquez Jr. leads UCLA in scoring (16.3 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg). Six Bruins are averaging at least 8.3 points per game. UCLA defeated USC 60-58 on Jan. 5 at Pauley Pavilion. In that game, USC rallied from an 18-point halftime deficit to take the lead with 30 seconds left, only to have UCLA’s Jaylen Clark hit a second-chance three-pointer to get the lead back for the Bruins. USC has won 5 of its last 8 games with UCLA and its last four at the Galen Center. USC trails 114-146* in the all-time series with UCLA (1 win later vacted due to NCAA penalty, original record 115-146).
PRIME TIME TROJANS — USC is 9-0 this season when the tip is set for 7 p.m. PT or later.
IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE — USC held California to 27.7 shooting on Nov. 30, the lowest by an opponent since holding Stanford to a 25.4 shooting percentage on March 3, 2021. USC allowed Washington State to make a 2022-23 opponent high 49.1 percent of its shots on Jan. 1,
but has held 3 of its last 6 opponents to under 35 percent shooting. USC has held 11 of its 19 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting. USC is holding its opponents to a 38.5 shooting percentage this season, 10th in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC’s defense has held the opposition to 38.8 FG percentage, 3rd in the country.
THE TOP STACK IN THE PAC — USC is third in conference regular season wins among Pac-12 teams for the past six seasons (since the 2017-18 season). USC is 65-37, Arizona is 66-36, while UCLA is 68-33 in that stretch, through games of Jan. 19. Next up would be Oregon at 63-35 and Colorado at 57-42.
THE FOUL TRUTH — USC committed 23 fouls in the 81-66 loss at Arizona on Jan. 19 and fell to 0-4 this season when committing 20 or more fouls in a game. USC committed more fouls than its opponent in 5 of its 6 losses this season. USC has averaged 20.0 fouls in its losses and 15.4 fouls in its victories.
BABY STEPS AT THE LINE — USC made 66.7 percent of its free throws at Arizona on Jan. 19, snapping a streak of 5 consecutive games making 70 percent or more from the charity stripe, USC’s longest such stretch since an 8-game stretch in the 2016-17 season. USC has made 71.3 percent of its free throws this season, its best team FT percentage since the 2017 team made 74.1 percent of its free throws. USC has shot higher than 70 percent for a season from the free throw line twice in the previous 15 seasons.
ENJOYING THE HOME COOKING — USC is 9-1 at the Galen Center this season, losing the opener to FGCU on Nov. 7, then winning the next 9 games. The 9-game home winning streak is USC’s longest single-season home winning streak since beginning the 2016-17 season 9-0 at the Galen Center. The last time USC won 10 or more in a row at home in a single season was the 2015-16 season when it won 15 consecutive games at the Galen Center.
USC HOSTING A BLOCK PARTY — USC has 108 blocks this season, led by Joshua Morgan’s 50 blocks. USC is averaging 5.7 blocks per game, 11th in the country. Morgan’s 50 blocks this season lead the conference and ranks tied for 8th 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. USC as a team has registered 579 blocks over the last four seasons which ranks 6th nationally.
PETERSON PROVIDING THE ASSIST — Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is third among Pac-12 players with 91 assists. Peterson is one of two players nationally (Jalen Pickett of Penn State) averaging at least 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season. Peterson is averaging 13.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
JEKYLL & HYDE FROM WAY OUTSIDE — USC made 43.8 percent of its 3-pointers vs. Utah on Jan. 14, its fifth game this season making at least 43 percent from 3-point range. In those five games USC has made 46.2 percent of its 3-pointers (49-for-106), while it has averaged 24.6 percent from beyond the arc in the other 14 games (56-for-228).
USC’S STELLAR STRETCH — USC won a school-record 73 games over the last three seasons (22 in 2020, 25 in 2021 and 26 in 2022). The previous school record for wins in three consecutive seasons was 71 (2016-18). The three consecutive seasons of 20+ wins also equals the school record for most consecutive 20-win seasons set from 2016-18.
WINNING WAYS — USC’s 73 total wins the previous three seasons tied for the third most among all Power 6 basketball programs, trailing only the last two NCAA champions Kansas (83) and Baylor (81). Also, USC’s 160 wins the previous seven seasons ranked 13th among all Power 6 conference teams.
ENFIELD LEADING THE WAY — USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 10th season at USC and has compiled an 196-124 record. His wins total ranks fourth on USC’s all-time wins list, trailing only Sam Barry (260), Forrest Twogood (251) and Bob Boyd (216). Including his two seasons as the head coach at FGCU (2012-13), Enfield has compiled a 237-152 record.
