USC Looks To Bounce Back At Stanford Thursday

Feb. 23, 2016

The USC Trojans (19-8, 8-6) will begin the final road trip of the season at the Stanford Cardinal (13-12, 6-8) in Palo Alto, Calif. on Feb. 25. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Bay Area with Rich Cellini and Mike Montgomery calling the action. USC's 19-8 start is its best since also going 19-8 to start the 2006-07 season. That team lost its next game to go 19-8. The 19 wins by USC are the most since the 2011 season (19-15). The last time USC won 20 games in a season was in 2009 (22-13).

BREAKING DOWN THE CARDINAL - Stanford is coming off a 64-53 loss at Washington on Feb. 20, but is 4-3 at Maples Pavilion in conference play and 10-5 overall at home. USC trails in the all-time series with the Cardinal 124-122, which reflects one Trojan victory in the 2008 season vacated due to NCAA penalty. USC has lost four consecutive games versus Stanford and is 2-11 in the last 13 games at Maples Pavilion. Senior forward Rosco Allen leads Stanford in scoring with a 15.6 ppg average.

UTAH HANDS USC ITS FIRST HOME LOSS -- Jakob Poeltl matched an opponent season high of 29 points and Utah shot an opponent best of 53.6 percent to beat USC, 80-69, on Feb. 21, handing USC its first loss in 16 home games. The 15-0 start at home was USC's best in school history and the 16-game home winning streak dating back to last season, was the second longest in school history. USC trailed 40-30 at halftime and the lead swelled to 16 before USC cut the deficit to 49-44 at the 15:51 mark of the second half, but Utah went on a 19-9 run the next eight minutes to put the game away. Jordan McLaughlin led USC with 20 points, while Bennie Boatwright and Julian Jacobs added 17 apiece. McLaughlin and Jacobs were a combined 15-for-25 shooting (60 percent), including 7 of 8 from 3-point range, while the rest of the team was 13-for-35 (37.1 percent).

GAME AT CAL CLOSES PAC-12 ROAD SLATE -- USC's next game will be at California (19-8, 9-5) on Feb. 28 in Berkeley, Calif. California is currently fourth and USC fifth in the Pac-12 standings. California will host UCLA on Feb. 25 before hosting the Trojans. The Golden Bears are 16-0 at home this season. California is led in scoring by freshman Jaylen Brown (15.7 ppg), the top scoring freshman in the conference. California leads the all-time series 134-122, which reflects one USC victory in the 2008 season vacated due to NCAA penalty. USC has lost its last four games at California, with two of the games decided by four points or less.

IT TAKES A TEAM -- USC has six players averaging 10.3 or more points and eight players have averaged 3.0 rebounds or more in the first 27 games. Seven different Trojans have scored at least 19 points in a game this season. USC has four players with at least 47 three-point baskets this season. Last season, USC had only three players all season make 16 or more three-pointers. USC had five players score in double figures vs. Monmouth on Nov. 16, the first time it had accomplished the feat since 2013 and has had five or more reach double figures in nine games this season. USC had six players score 10 or more points vs. Cal Poly on Dec. 17, the first time accomplishing that feat since Dec. 28, 2004 vs. Southern.

THE FINAL FOUR - USC begins the week with four regular season games remaining, two on the road followed by two at home. USC is 15-1 at home and 3-5 on the road, 6-1 at home and 2-5 on the road in Pac-12 action. The combined record of the four teams USC has remaining on its schedule (Stanford, California, Oregon State and Oregon) is 68-36 (65.4 winning percentage). USC is currently fifth in the conference, while California is fourth, Oregon second and Stanford and Oregon State are tied for eighth.

DYNAMIC DUO -- Jordan McLaughlin (134) and Julian Jacobs (131) are one of two sets of guards in the country with at least 130 assists this season. The other pair is Emmett Naar (158) and Joe Rahon (157) of Saint Mary's.

MISSING DC -- Redshirt junior forward Darion Clark has missed the last five games with a shoulder injury and the Trojans have struggled on the boards in those games, being outrebounded in four of the games and tying in rebounds in the other game. In the 22 games in which Clark played, USC was 15-5-2 in the battle of the boards. USC has been outrebounded by 5.8 rebounds per game in the last five games. Clark averages 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 points in 11.8 minutes of action per game. He has a 16.3 prorated rebounds per game average. Nikola Jovanovic is second on the team with an 11.2 average.

SC STANDS FOR SLAM CITY - USC has registered 98 dunks in the first 27 games, compared to its opponents' 48. Chimezie Metu leads USC with 39 dunks and Julian Jacobs, who led USC in dunks last season with 19, is second on the team with 29.

TURNAROUND TOWN -- According to research by J.D. Hamilton of the NCAA, USC's 9.5 game improvement from last season (12-20 to 19-8) is tied for 10th best in the country and tops among teams in the Power 5 conferences.

THREE AT LAST, THREE AT LAST... - USC has made 219 three-point baskets this season, tied for first among Pac-12 teams through games of Feb. 22. It is the most by USC since netting 233 in the 2005 season. USC has finished 11th or 12th among Pac-12 teams in three-pointers made the last four seasons. USC has made six or more three-pointers in 22 of the 27 games and six times has netted 12 or more, with a season-best 13 makes vs. CSUN on Nov. 23 and vs. Lafayette on Dec. 23. On the year, USC is averaging 39.0 percent from beyond the arc (24th in the country), while its opponents are shooting 31.0 percent from long-range (30th best in the country). Last season USC made a total of 170 three-pointers for an average of 5.3 makes per game.

BENNIE BUCKETS TO BENNIE BASKETBALL - USC freshman Bennie Boatwright posted career highs and his first double-double when he scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds at Oregon on Jan. 21. Boatwright's previous high for rebounds had been nine twice. He has scored in double figures in 17 of the 26 games he has played. He went scoreless and fouled out in 14 minutes of action at Arizona State on Feb. 12, but followed it up with 18 points at Arizona on Feb. 14. He has made 48 three-point baskets which ranks fourth on USC's all-time freshman list (O.J. Mayo* - 88, Gabe Pruitt - 63, Harold Miner - 60). Boatwright came to USC as a noted shooter, but has demonstrated a very well rounded game. Boatwright is just one of just two freshmen in the conference (Tres Tinkle) to rank in the top 10 in these eight categories:

       Points    FG Made    Rebounds    3-ptrs    FT Made    FT%    Assists    BlocksBennie Boatwright    311/7th    99/7th    138/6th    48/1st    65/8th    .739/3rd    26/10th    21/6th

* Player participation later vacated due to NCAA penalty.

USC Looks To Bounce Back At Stanford Thursday

Players Mentioned

Bennie Boatwright

Darion Clark

Julian Jacobs

Nikola Jovanovic

Jordan McLaughlin

Chimezie Metu

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University Southern California Trojans

USC Looks To Bounce Back At Stanford Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Bennie Boatwright

Darion Clark

Julian Jacobs

Nikola Jovanovic

Jordan McLaughlin

Chimezie Metu

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