University Southern California Trojans
USC Closes Road Slate At California On Sunday
February 26, 2016 | Men's Basketball
The USC Trojans (19-9, 8-7) will play its final road game of the season at the California Golden Bears (20-8, 10-5) in Berkeley, Calif. on Feb. 28. The game will air on Fox Sports 1 with Joe Davis and Steve Lavin calling the action. USC's 19-9 start is its best since staring the 2006-07 season at 20-8. 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). USC has lost four of its last five games and five consecutive conference road games.
BREAKING DOWN CALIFORNIA - California is has won six consecutive games and is coming off a 75-63 home win over UCLA on Feb. 25. The Golden Bears are 17-0 at home this season. California is led in scoring by freshman Jaylen Brown (15.8 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. Eleven of the last 15 games overall between the two teams have been decided by 10 points or less.
USC FALLS AT STANFORD -- Stanford used a 15-2 run midway through the first half to open up a 10-point lead and cruised to a 84-64 win on Feb. 25 in Palo Alto, Calif. USC trailed 43-25 at halftime as four of its starting five were a combined 0-for-15. Despite hitting 59.3 percent of its shots in the second half, USC trailed by 20 or more points for almost the entire second half. For the game, Stanford made 47.4 percent of its shots, while the Trojans hit 42.6 percent. Katin Reinhardt led USC with 14 points. Dorian Pickens led Stanford with a career-high 25 points.
OREGON STATE OPENS FINAL HOMESTAND -- USC will host the Oregon State Beavers (16-10, 7-8) at the Galen Center on March 2 at 8 p.m. Oregon State will host Washington State on Feb. 28 before traveling to Los Angeles. USC lost 85-70 at Oregon State on Jan. 28, a game the Trojans led 40-36 at halftime. USC leads the all-time series with Oregon State 67-63, which reflects two wins vacated by the Trojans from the 2008 season. USC has won nine of the last 11 games at home against the Beavers. Oregon State is led in scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg) by senior guard Gary Payton II.
IT TAKES A TEAM -- USC has six players averaging 10.3 or more points and eight players have averaged 3.1 rebounds or more in the first 28 games. Seven different Trojans have scored at least 19 points in a game this season. USC has four players with at least 49 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 THREE - USC is playing it last road game, followed by two at home. USC is 15-1 at home and 3-6 on the road, 6-1 at home and 2-6 on the road in Pac-12 action. The combined record of the three teams USC has remaining on its schedule (California, Oregon State and Oregon) is 58-24 (70.7 winning percentage).
DYNAMIC DUO -- Jordan McLaughlin (138) and Julian Jacobs (135) are one of two sets of guards in the country with at least 135 assists this season. The other pair is Emmett Naar (166) and Joe Rahon (160) of Saint Mary's.
THE DEFENSE RESTS -- USC's opponents have made a combined 49.3 percent of its shots in the last four games (112-for-227). In the first 24 games, USC had allowed just one opponent to a higher percentage in a single game (49.4 percent by Arizona on Jan. 9 in a USC win). The opposition has also made 39.1 percent of its three-point attempts in the four games (34-for-87).
MISSING DC -- Redshirt junior forward Darion Clark has missed the last six games (2-4) with a shoulder injury and the Trojans have struggled on the boards in those games, being outrebounded in five 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 5.0 rebounds per game in the last six 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 11.0 average.
SC STANDS FOR SLAM CITY - USC has registered 103 dunks in the first 28 games, compared to its opponents' 51. Chimezie Metu leads USC with 43 dunks and Julian Jacobs, who led USC in dunks last season with 19, is second on the team with 29.
SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY -- USC is 1-5 on Sundays and 18-4 on all other days.
FALLING BEHIND -- USC has trailed at the half each of the last four games by an average of 13 points. USC has trailed at the half only nine times this season (2-7). USC led or was tied at the half in 16 of its first 18 games.
STEWART ZEROED IN FROM BEYOND THE ARC - Sophomore guard Elijah Stewart has averaged 11.5 points (184 total) in USC's last 16 games, twice matching his career high of 27 points, He has made 47.0 percent of his shots in the 16 games (62-for-132), including making 49.3 percent of this three-point attempts (33-for-67). In the 12 Pac-12 games, he is shooting 46.6 percent from beyond the arc (27-for-58), fifth among Pac-12 players.
FOUR FROM DEEP ON THE FLOOR - Katin Reinhardt (50), Jordan McLaughlin (49), Bennie Boatwright (49) and Elijah Stewart (49) all rank in the top 15 among Pac-12 players in three-point baskets made. No other conference team has more that two players in the top 15. USC has four players with 30 or more makes for the first time since the 2001-02 season (Brandon Granville-56, David Bluthenthal-62, Errick Craven-34 and Desmon Farmer-35). That was the only time the Trojans had four players with 34 or more made shots from beyond the arc since the three-point shot went into effect beginning with the 1986-87 season.
EN GUARDE! -- USC's four primary guards Julian Jacobs, Jordan McLaughlin, Katin Reinhardt and Elijah Stewart have combined to average 45.9 points (1285 total), 14.9 rebounds (417 total) and 12.4 assists (346 total) per game. Despite going 29-for-72 (40.3 percent) on the trip to Oregon, they are shooting 45.6 percent (456-for-1000) from the floor, 40.0 percent from three-point range (161-for-403).
TURNAROUND TOWN -- According to research by J.D. Hamilton of the NCAA, USC's 9.0 game improvement from last season (12-20 to 19-9) is tied for 12th best in the country and tops among teams in the Power 5 conferences.
