The USC Trojans (17-6, 9-3) will play at the Oregon Ducks (14-10, 8-5) at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on Feb. 9 at 8:00 p.m. The game will air on ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams calling the action.
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 WINS 200TH AS HEAD OF THE USC PROGRAM — USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 10th season at USC and has compiled an 200-124 record. He picked up his 200th win on Feb. 4 vs. Washington. Enfield’s win 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 241-152 record.
FACING OREGON — The Oregon Ducks (14-10, 8-5) are coming off a 75-70 win at Arizona State on Feb. 4. Oregon is 10-4 at home. Senior guard Will Richardson leads the Ducks in scoring with a 14.0 average. USC and Oregon split the season series last year with both teams winning on the other’s court, USC winning 70-69 at Oregon and Oregon winning 79-70 at USC. The Trojans have won 7 of the last 10 meetings with Oregon. USC lead the all-time series with Oregon 67-59* (2 wins later vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 69-59).
OREGON STATE ON DECK — USC’s next game will be at the Oregon State Beavers (9-15, 3-10) on Feb. 11 at 3:00 p.m. Freshman guard Jordan Pope leads Oregon State in scoring with a 12. 6 average. Eleven of the 15 players on the Beavers’ roster are freshmen or sophomores. USC defeated Oregon State 63-62 in Los Angeles on Dec. 4, overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit. USC has won 11 of its last 14 games against the Beavers. USC leads the all-time series with Oregon State 78-66 (2 USC wins vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 80-66).
NIGHTTIME IS THE RIGHT TIME — USC is 11-0 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. USC has held 13 of its 23 opponents this season to under 40 percent shooting. USC is holding its opponents to a 38.9 shooting percentage this season, 9th in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC’s defense has held the opposition to 38.8 FG percentage, 3rd in the country.
LEADERS OF 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 69-37, Arizona is 71-36, while UCLA is 70-35 in that stretch, through games of Feb. 6. Next up would be Oregon at 66-39 and Colorado at 60-48.
ENJOYING THE HOME COOKING — USC is 12-1 at the Galen Center this season, losing the opener to FGCU on Nov. 7, then winning the next 12 games. The 12-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.
PETERSON PROVIDING THE ASSIST — Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is fifth among Pac-12 players with 109 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 14.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
JEKYLL & HYDE FROM WAY OUTSIDE — USC made 47.4 percent of its 3-pointers vs. Washington State on Feb. 2, its eighth game this season making at least 38 percent from 3-point range. In those eight games USC has made 45.5 percent of its 3-pointers (75-for-165), while it has averaged 24.0 percent from beyond the arc in the other 15 games (60-for-250).
I’M YOUR BOOGIE MAN – Senior guard Boogie Ellis has averaged 18.7 points the last 12 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 scoring in double figures the last 13 games. Ellis leads USC with a 16.5 scoring average and leads the team with 51 three-pointers made and 76 free throws made. He is also second among Trojans with 36 steals.
WE KNOW WHAT YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION WAS… — USC has averaged 10.8 turnovers per game in its nine games in 2023 (97 total), after averaging 14.4 turnovers per game in its first 14 contest (201 total) played in 2022. USC has had 12 or more turnovers twice in its last nine games, while reaching 12 or more turnovers in 12 of its first 14 games.
WHERE DO WE STACK IN THE PAC? — In Pac-12 play, USC leads conference teams in field goal defense (39.2 percent), blocked shots (5.58 bpg) and free throw percentage (78.8 percent) and is second in scoring offense (71.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (45.5 percent).
