USC To Play At San Diego On Wednesday
November 28, 2016 | Men's Basketball
The USC Trojans (6-0) will take on the San Diego Toreros (2-4) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego, Calif. on Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. USC's 6-0 start is its best since the 2000-01 Trojans began the season 8-0 en route to a 24-10 record and an NCAA Elite Eight appearance.
BREAKING DOWN SAN DIEGO -- San Diego (2-4) is coming off a 56-51 home loss to New Mexico State on Nov. 26. USD has wins over Nicholls State and Bethune-Cookman and its other losses are to San Diego State, UCLA and Samford. Senior forward Brett Bailey leads the Toreros with 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. USC defeated USD 83-45 in the 2015-16 season opener (Nov. 13, 2015) and is 5-0 all-time against the Toreros
USC PULLS AWAY FROM UCSB -- USC made its most three-pointers in a game since 2013 and pulled away from UCSB in the second half for a 96-72 win at the Galen Center on Nov. 27. USC led 43-38 at halftime and still by just five points eight minutes into the second half before pulling away for the 24-point win. The Trojans made 14 of 35 three-point attempts (40 percent), its most makes from beyond the arc since netting 15 at Arizona State on Jan. 24, 2013. Leading the way was Bennie Boatwright with a career-high tying five three-pointers and a game-high 21 points. Elijah Stewart added four treys and finished with 18 points. USC had a balanced attack with five players scoring in double figures and nine grabbing three or more rebounds. USC made 54.1 percent of its shots, including 61.3 percent in the second half. The Trojans had 26 assists on their 33 baskets (78.8 percent).
BYU AT STAPLES CENTER ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against the BYU Cougars (4-2) in the Hoophall LA game at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. on Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. The game is part of a doubleheader as Gonzaga and Arizona will meet in a 2:30 p.m. contest that same day. BYU lost its last game 114-101 at home against Utah Valley and will play at Utah State on Nov. 30 before facing the Trojans. Sophomores Eric Mika (19.7) and Nick Emery (17.7) lead the Cougars in scoring. USC leads the all-time series with BYU 6-3, winning the last matchup 74-68 on Dec. 3, 2005.
DE'ANTHONY IS DE'MAN -- Freshman guard De'Anthony Melton had four steals in the win vs. UCSB on Nov. 27 and leads all Pac-12 Conference players with 18 steals. He has at least two steals in five of six games and his 3.0 steals per game average is tied for fifth in the country through games of Nov. 27. Melton is averaging 9.7 points and 5.8 rebounds, while ranking second on the team with 20 assists.
BALANCE WITH THE BALL -- Seven different Trojans have scored at least 13 points in a game this season and six are averaging at least 9.7 points per game.
STEW CAN DO -- Junior guard Elijah Stewart posted his second career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds at Texas A&M on Nov. 18. He leads USC in scoring (16.2 ppg) and three-pointers made (16) and is second in rebounds (40) and blocks (9). He also is 21 of 24 from the free throw line (.875).
PRECISION AT THE POINT -- Junior point guard Jordan McLaughlin scored 13 points on 4 of 6 shooting (3-for-3 from beyond the arc) and had five assists vs. UCSB on Nov. 27. In the last three games, McLaughlin has averaged 10 points, while making 63 percent of his shots (10-for-16), 80 percent of his three-pointers (4-for-5) and posting a 19-5 assist to turnover ratio.
SECOND TO NONE -- USC scored 53 points in the second half against UCSB on Nov. 27 and has averaged 45.3 points (272 total) after the break this season. USC's opponents have averaged 34.8 points (209 total) in the second half against the Trojans. USC has won or tied in second-half scoring in every game this season.
