University Southern California Trojans
USC Travels To Oregon To Take On The Ducks Thursday
January 21, 2015 | Men's Basketball
The USC Trojans (9-8, 1-4) will plat the Oregon Ducks (12-6, 2-3) at the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore. on Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network and ESPNLA 710. USC has lost four of its last five games.
BREAKING DOWN THE DUCKS -- Oregon is coming off an 85-77 loss at Washington on Jan. 18, but is 7-3 in its last 10 games. Ducks are 11-2 at home and are led by senior guard Joseph Young who is averaging 19.4 points per game. USC has lost its last eight games against Oregon, but prior to that had won seven of nine games. USC has lost its last four games at Oregon, but had won the previous four games played in Eugene. USC leads the all-time series, 60-50 (reflects 2 wins by USC in 2008 vacated).
USC PUSHED AROUND BY UCLA, FALL 83-66 -- UCLA used a 23-2 run straddling the first and second halves to cruise to an 83-66 victory over USC at the Galen Center on Jan. 14. USC led 31-28 late in the first half, but the Bruins scored the final 8 points of the first half and the first 5 of the second. Following a basket by USC, UCLA went on another 10-0 run to make the lead 51-33 5 minutes into the second half and the Trojans got no closer than 9 the rest of the way. UCLA dominated the boards, defeating USC 41-20 on the glass which led to a 46-30 advantage on points in the paint. The Trojans were limited to 4 offensive rebounds and entered the game averaging over 13 per game. USC had defeated its opponent on the glass in 11 of the previous 12 games. UCLA made 56.5 percent of its shots, including 41.2 percent from 3-point range. Seven of the eight Bruins who played in the game shot better than 50 percent from the floor. UCLA's Norman Powell scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, while Bryce Alford added 21 and Kevon Looney posted a double-double with12 points and 10 rebounds. Nikola Jovanovic led USC with 20 points. Malik Marquetti was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and finished with 10 points and 2 assists.
OREGON STATE ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against the Oregon State Beavers (12-5, 3-2) on Jan. 24 in Corvallis, Ore. at 3 p.m. The Beavers are 10-0 at home and will host UCLA on Jan. 22 before facing USC. Guard Gary Payton II leads Oregon State in scoring (11.8) and rebounds (8.5) and all Pac-12 players in steals (50). USC leads the all-time series 66-61 (reflects 2 wins by USC in 2008 vacated). USC lost both games to Oregon State last season and is 3-7 in the last 10 games against the Beavers, but the Trojans won the previous eight games in the series. USC has lost five straight in Corvallis, with two games going to overtime and two others decided by six points or less.
OFFENSE IMPROVING -- USC has averaged 71.5 points per game in the last 10 games, after averaging 62.3 points in the first seven contests. USC scored 75 or more points in four consecutive games (Dec. 3-21) for the first time since Nov. 30-Dec. 9, 2003.
TEAM TROJAN -- USC currently has eight players averaging over 5.0 points per game. The last time USC had eight players average over 5.0 points for a season was the 2004-05 season. USC has had eight different players lead the team or tie for game-high scoring this season and seven players have scoring in double figures at least three times. Five different Trojans have led the team in rebounding in a game this season.
PUTTING THE "FREE" IN FREE THROWS -- After struggling all season at the charity stripe, USC has combined to make 78.7 percent (48-for-61) of its shots from the line in the past three games. USC made 17 of 20 free throws in the win vs. California on Jan. 7, USC's best effort from the line this season, then hit 19 of 24 vs. Stanford on Jan. 11 and 12 of 17 vs. UCLA on Jan. 14. USC had made only 58.8 percent of its free throws in the previous nine games (97-for-165). USC was 15-for-28 (.536) from the free throw line in the overtime loss to Army on Dec. 13. USC is shooting 64.1 percent from the free throw line this season and has only topped 70 percent in four of its first 17 games. USC has taken 68 more free throws (351-283) than its opponents, but has made just 31 more free throws (225-194).
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS -- USC destroyed on the boards by UCLA by a total of 41-20 on Jan. 14. Prior to that, USC had won the battle of the boards 12 times in 16 games, including 11 of the previous 12 games. For the season, USC has outrebounded its opponents 630-621. USC's season high for rebounds was 51 vs. Penn State on Nov. 23.
GAINING EXPERIENCE -- Eleven of the 13 players to appear in a game for USC this season are either freshmen or sophomores. USC's freshmen and sophomores have logged 91.3 percent of the team's minutes. Despite Malik Martin (3+ games) and Jordan McLaughlin (2+ games) missing time due to injury, USC's four freshmen had combined to play 39.1 percent of USC's minutes this season.
THE DEFENSE RESTS -- USC has struggled defensively since Pac-12 play began, allowing opponents to shoot a conference-high 49.5 percent against them, including 40.6 percent from three-point range (10th in conference). However, USC held California to 35.4 percent shooting, including 20.0 percent from three-point range in the win on Jan. 7. Entering conference play, USC had held its opponents to 38.9 percent shooting from the floor, including 29.3 percent from three-point range. Still, USC has held eight of 17 opponents this season to 40 percent shooting or less, for a combined 42.0 shooting percentage. Last season, USC's opponents had a combined field goal percentage of 43.0 percent.
