The USC Trojans (15-6, 7-3) will host the Washington State Cougars (10-13, 5-7) at the Galen Center on Feb. 2 at 8:00 p.m. The game will air on FS1 with Guy Haberman and Dave Miller calling the action.
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 198-124 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 239-152 record.
FACING WASHINGTON STATE — The Washington State Cougars (10-13, 5-7) are coming off a 75-58 home win against Arizona State on Jan. 28, snapping a three-game losing streak which followed a season-best three-game winning streak. Guard TJ Bamba leads Washington State in scoring with a 14.6 points per game average. USC lost 81-71 at Washington State on Jan. 1, snapping a 12-game winning streak against the Cougars. USC leads the all-time series 81-49.
WASHINGTON ON DECK — USC’s next game will be vs. the Washington Huskies (13-10, 5-7) at the Galen Center on Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. The Huskies will play at UCLA on Feb. 2 before traveling crosstown to face USC. Forward Keion Brooks Jr. leads Washington in scoring with a 17.9 points per game average. USC won 80-67 at Washington on Dec. 30 and have won the last six meetings with the Huskies. USC leads the all-time series 78-75* (2 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 79-75).
PRIME TIME TROJANS — USC is 10-0 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 6 of its last 9 opponents to under 40 percent shooting. USC has held 13 of its 21 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting. USC is holding its opponents to a 38.4 shooting percentage this season, 7th in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC’s defense has held the opposition to 38.7 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 67-37, Arizona is 69-36, while UCLA is 68-35 in that stretch, through games of Jan. 30. Next up would be Oregon at 65-38 and Colorado at 58-48.
ENJOYING THE HOME COOKING — USC is 10-1 at the Galen Center this season, losing the opener to FGCU on Nov. 7, then winning the next 10 games. The 10-game home winning streak is USC’s longest single-season home winning streak since the Trojans won the first 15 games at the Galen Center in the 2015-16 season.
USC HOSTING A BLOCK PARTY — USC has 116 blocks this season, led by Joshua Morgan’s 52 blocks. USC is averaging 5.5 blocks per game, 12th in the country. Morgan’s 52 blocks this season lead the conference and rank tied for 10th 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 587 blocks over the last four seasons which ranks 7th nationally.
PETERSON PROVIDING THE ASSIST — Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is sixth among Pac-12 players with 97 assists. Peterson is one of two players in a Power 6 conference (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 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Â
JEKYLL & HYDE FROM WAY OUTSIDE — USC made 45.5 percent of its 3-pointers vs. UCLA on Jan. 26, its seventh game this season making at least 38 percent from 3-point range. In those seven games USC has made 45.2 percent of its 3-pointers (66-for-146), while it has averaged 24.6 percent from beyond the arc in the other 14 games (56-for-228).
CLANCY ON THE CALL — Former USC basketball great Sam Clancy will join Jordan Moore, the voice of Trojan basketball, on the radio broadcast of the game vs. Washington on Feb. 4.
THE MEN OF STEAL — Kobe Johnson (45), Boggie Ellis (35) and Drew Peterson (25) have combined for 105 steals this season, the second most by a Pac-12 trio. Johnson ranks second among Pac-12 players, Ellis is tied for fourth and Peterson ranks 11th.
ELLIS COOKING AGAIN – Senior guard Boogie Ellis has averaged 18.7 points the last 10 games, including scoring a career-high 31 points vs. UCLA on Jan. 26.  He began his streak by scoring a then career-best 28 points vs. Auburn on Dec. 18.  He scored in double figures in USC’s first 7 games, then totaled 29 points in the next four games, before his current onslaught.  Ellis leads USC with a 16.3 scoring average and leads the team with 45 three-pointers made and 65 free throws made.  He is also second among Trojans with 35 steals.
TOEING THE LINE — USC made all 14 of its free throw attempts at Arizona State on Jan. 21, tying for the third most makes from the charity stripe in a game without a miss in school history. USC followed that game up by making 17 of 18 FT (94.4 percent) vs. UCLA on Jan. 26, making it 31 of 32 the last two games (96.9 percent). On Jan. 19 at Arizona, USC made 66.7 percent of its free throw, 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 73.4 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.
