University Southern California Trojans
USC In Knoxville For Tuesday Battle With Tennessee
December 20, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2010
KNOXVILLE, TENN. -- The USC Trojans (6-5) will play at the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers (7-2) in Knoxville, Tenn. on Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. (ET). The game will air on Prime Ticket with Dave Neal and Barry Booker calling the action. USC is looking to snap a six-game road losing streak dating back to last season. USC is 0-3 on the road this season and was 2-9 on the road in the 2009-10 season.
BREAKING DOWN TENNESSEE -- Tennessee is coming off a 49-48 loss at Charlotte on Dec. 17 and a 89-82 home loss to Oakland on Dec. 14. The game prior to those, the Volunteers defeated then No. 3 Pittsburgh 83-76 on Dec. 11 and rose to No. 7 in the rankings. Tennessee has been led in scoring by Scotty Hopson (16.1 ppg) and Tobias Harris (15.0 ppg.) in its first 9 games. USC trails 4-2 in the all-time series, but defeated then-No. 9 Tennessee 77-55 at the Galen Center last season. USC head basketball coach Kevin O'Neill was the Tennessee head coach for the 1995-97 seasons.
BAD HOLLYWOOD ENDING AT KANSAS FOR USC -- USC had a two-point lead with under 40 seconds left, but after a Marcus Morris miss, Kansas got the offensive rebound and passed the ball around to debuting freshman Josh Selby and he drained a three-pointer with 24.2 seconds left to give the Jayhawks a 69-68 lead. USC's Maurice Jones had a shot blocked out of bounds with 6 seconds left and on the ensuing play, Jio Fontan stepped out of bounds on the sideline and Kansas added a free throw for the 70-68 final score on Dec. 18 to send Kansas to its 65th consecutive home win. Selby had a game-high 21 points and hit five three-pointers, while USC's Donte Smith had 20 points, including five three-pointers. Fontan, in his first game as a Trojan, scored 15 points and had two assists. Alex Stepheson had 18 points and 8 rebounds for USC which overcame a 14-point second half deficit.
LEHIGH NEXT AT THE GALEN CENTER -- USC's next game will be vs. Lehigh (6-5) at the Galen Center on Dec. 23 at 5:30 p.m. Lehigh is coming off wins at Marist (91-78) and at home vs. St. Francis-Pa. (79-61). The Mountain Hawks are led in scoring by sophomore C.J. McCollum who is averaging 22.5 points per game, including scoring a career-high 42 at Kent State. Lehigh returns 2 starters and 10 lettermen from last year's team which advanced to the NCAA Tournament and played Kansas close until midway through the second half. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
FONTAN HAS STRONG DEBUT -- Guard Jio Fontan, who transfered to USC from Fordham last January, played in his first game for the Trojans on Dec. 18 at Kansas and had 15 points. He made the A-10 All-Rookie team as a freshman in 2009 (15.3 ppg, 4.7 apg) and averaged 15.0 points per game in five games last season at Fordham.
TOUGH STRETCHES -- USC began the season playing 8 games in 17 days (4-4), its most games in that short of a period since the 1984 season. On Dec. 5 USC began a stretch of 4 games (2-1) against opponents with a combined record of 25-3, with 3 of the them being ranked. USC first beat a then No. 19 and 6-1 Texas team and followed that up with a win over a then 7-2 NAU team. Then USC suffered a two-point loss at No. 3 Kansas (10-0) and now faces a 7-2 UT team which has won 40 of 43 home games vs. nonconference opponents in the Bruce Pearl era.
NOAH WOULD BE PROUD... -- Two by two the wins and losses have been coming for the Trojans in pairs, as USC has alternated winning two and losing two games all season. The Trojans are coming off a loss at Kansas.
FRESHMEN HAVING IMPACT -- USC has relied heavily on freshmen with Maurice Jones leading the team in minutes played and assists, while starting every game and Bryce Jones ranking third in minutes played and points and second in assists and three-pointers made. In addition, Garrett Jackson leads the team with a .724 shooting percentage. The Joneses also have 56.0 percent of USC's assists (70 of 125).
STEPHESON LENDING A HAND...JUST ONE -- Senior Alex Stepheson scored six points, had three blocks and grabbed 13 rebounds in the season opener vs. UC Irvine on Nov. 13, but also suffered a fracture in his left hand. Since then he wears a cast between games and a brace during games. He had an X-ray on Monday Nov. 22 which showed he is healing well and since has averaged 12.8 points (77 total) and 10.2 rebounds (61 total) in the six games while hitting 60.0 percent of his shots (36-for-60). He has had a double-double in 3 of the last 6 games.
SMITH'S SCORING SPREE CONTINUES -- Senior guard Donte Smith scored 14 consecutive points for USC in the second half of the victory over NAU on Dec. 11 after the Lumberjacks had cut the lead to three points. In Smith's second-half barrage was four three-pointers and a layup which put the game away. Smith scored a career-high 22 points in the game and made a career-best five three-pointers. He followed that up with 20 points in 20 minutes at Kansas on Dec. 18, also making five three-pointers and hitting six of eight shots overall. Smith is coming off the bench and averaging 10.1 points for USC, fifth-best on the team. He leads the team lead with 25 three-pointers made and leads the team with a 77.8 percent success rate from the free throw line (players with at least 10 attempts).
