USC Faces Akron In Diamond Head Classic Opener Friday

The USC Trojans (6-4) are facing the Akron Zips (6-2) in a first-round game at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i on Dec. 22 at 4:30 p.m. PT. The winner of the USC-Akron game will play the winner of the Middle Tennessee-Princeton game on Dec. 23, while the other two teams will meet the same day. USC has lost four of its last six games, after beginning the season 4-0.

BREAKING DOWN THE ZIPS -- Akron (6-2) is coming off an 81-63 home win over Mississippi Valley and has won its last three games. Akron went 27-9 last season and won the Mid-American regular season title. Akron returned one starter and five lettermen from that squad. Sophomore forward Daniel Utomi leads Akron in scoring and rebounding, with averages of 20.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. This is the first meeting between the two schools.

USC FALLS TO PRINCETON IN OT -- USC rallied from 11 points down in the second half to force overtime, but fell 103-93 against Princeton at the Galen Center on Dec. 19. The Trojans, playing without key rotation players Bennie Boatwright, Jonah Mathews and Derryck Thornton due to injuries, made 6 of their final 7 shots of regulation in the final 1:24 to overcome an eight-point deficit and tie the game at 86 at the end of regulation. Jordan McLaughlin made a layup with 15 seconds left to cut it to 86-84, then he forced a turnover and made another layup with eight seconds remaining to earn the extra period. USC led 91-90 in overtime with 3:35 remaining but went 1-for-7 from the field the rest of the way, while Princeton finished 3-for-4 down the stretch and hit 7 consecutive free throws. McLaughlin finished with 24 points and 8 assists, while Chimezie Metu posted a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. USC's loss was its first against an Ivy League opponent since falling 99-61 to Penn at the Forum on Jan. 11, 2003. Princeton's 103 points were the most against USC since allowing UCLA 107 on Jan. 5, 2014.

TIS THE SEASON OF SHARING -- Jordan McLaughlin's 19 assists on Dec. 17 vs. UCSB broke his school record of 16 assists in a game set in 2015 and tied the Pac-12 single-game record for assists in a game of 19 set by Russell Brown of Arizona in 1979. USC's 28 assists vs. UCSB were its most in a game since registering 29 vs. George Mason on Dec. 20, 1995.

ON DECK AT DIAMOND HEAD - USC is playing in the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawai'i from Dec. 22-25. USC's first-round opponent will by Akron on Dec. 22. The second-round game will be against either Middle Tennessee or Princeton on Dec. 23. USC's final game of the tournament will be against an opponent from the group of Davidson, Hawai'i, Miami and New Mexico State on Christmas day. USC won the inaugural Diamond Head Classic in 2009, defeating Western Michigan, Saint Mary's and UNLV en route to the title.

COMPACT SCHEDULE -- USC is in the midst of playing eight games in 18 days (2-1), after beginning the season with seven games in 34 days.

McGLAUGHLIN RISING UP THE CHARTS -- Senior point guard Jordan McLaughlin continues to lead the Trojans and move up some of USC's all-time lists. McLaughlin is averaging 14.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists this season. He leads all Pac-12 players in assists per game and is second in steals per game (2.3). McLaughlin ranks second on USC's all-time list and is sixth among current players with 538 career assists. He also ranks 6th in steals (164), 10th in three-pointers (150), 15th in scoring (1,332) and 8th in minutes played on USC's all-time lists.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS... -- With De'Anthony Melton missing USC's first 10 games, Derryck Thornton missing the last five games (shoulder), Bennie Boatwright the last two games (foot) and Jonah Mathews last game (ankle), USC has missed 18 games of action by projected rotation players or 1.8 players per game this season.

CLEANING THE GLASS -- USC had 137 rebounds to its opponent's 84 in the three games (45.7 rpg to 28.0 rpg) prior to being outrebounded by Princeton, 35-34 on Dec. 19. USC has had six games this season with at least 40 rebounds and has had five games in which it has had at least 10 more rebounds than its opponent. USC is 5-1 in games it has more rebounds than the opposition.

A SLEW FOR STEW -- USC senior Elijah Stewart surpassed the 1,000 points scored mark during the win at Vanderbilt on Nov. 19 and now has 1,104 career points scored. Stewart has made 24 three-pointers this season to give him 199 career 3-point makes, fourth on USC's all-time list and 4 behind Desmon Farmer, who is third on USC's all-time list with 203. Stewart has also played 112 consecutive games, the most of any player in the Pac-12. Stewart matched a career high with seven there-point makes vs. Oklahoma on Dec. 8. He has made at least one three-pont basket in all but one game this season (Dec. 14 vs. Santa Clara).

Players Mentioned

Bennie Boatwright

Jonah Mathews

Jordan McLaughlin

Chimezie Metu

Elijah Stewart

Derryck Thornton