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Photo by: Percy Anderson
USC Takes On California Sunday
January 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Features
Trojans have won a season-high five consecutive games
The USC Trojans (16-6, 7-2) will host the California Golden Bears (7-14, 1-7) at the Galen Center on Jan. 28 at 1:00 p.m., the only home game this season to start before 5 p.m. USC has won a season-high five consecutive games, all in conference. USC has not won six consecutive conference games since winning 9-straight in the 1992 season. USC's 7-2 start to conference play is its best since also beginning 7-2 at the start of the 2002 Pac-10 season.
BREAKING DOWN CALIFORNIA -- California (7-14, 1-7) is coming off a 70-57 loss at UCLA on Jan. 25. California won 77-74 at Stanford on Dec. 30 to open conference play, but has lost its last seven Pac-12 games. Don Coleman leads four Bears scoring in double figures with a 16.9 average, but did not play at UCLA due to a violation of team rules. USC won 80-62 at California on Jan. 4, but the Bears lead the all-time series 136-123, which reflects one USC win in 2008 vacated due to NCAA penalty.
USC HOLDS ON TO DEFEAT STANFORD -- USC raced out to a 15-point halftime lead, but didn't put away Stanford until Elijah Stewart flushed home a dunk just before the buzzer in a 69-64 win at the Galen Center on Jan. 24. With USC leading 67-64 and 13 seconds remaining, Jordan McLaughlin missed a pair of free throws, which gave Stanford a chance to tie. Daejon Davis, the hero in the first game with a 55-foot buzzer-beater, missed a three-pointer with 4 seconds remaining and USC was awarded the rebound. Jordan Usher then threw a long pass downcourt to Elijah Stewart who caught it and put an exclamation point on the win. USC made 58.1 percent of its first-half shots, but only 35.3 percent in the second half to finish with a 46.2 shooting percentage. The Trojans held Stanford to 44.0 percent shooting. USC forced 16 turnovers and made 9 steals. USC outscored Stanford 48-28 on points in the paint and 28-11 on bench points. Jonah Mathews came off the bench to lead USC with 18 points, making 4 of 6 three-pointers. Nick Rakocevic started in place of Bennie Boatwright, who missed the game with a sore right foot, and scored 9 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Chimezie Metu had a double-double (12 points/10 rebounds) and had a career-best 5 assists.
UCLA ON DECK - USC's next game will be at UCLA on Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. UCLA (14-7, 5-4) will host Stanford on Jan. 27 before taking on the Trojans. UCLA is 10-2 at home this season. UCLA is led in scoring by guard Aaron Holiday who is scoring 18.9 points per game. USC and UCLA split the regular season games last year with each team winning its home game, before UCLA defeated USC 76-74 in the Pac-12 quarterfinals. UCLA leads the all-time series 140-108, which reflects one win vacated by USC in 2008 due to NCAA penalty.
DEFENSIVE CHARGE -- Since allowing Washington to shoot 67.3 percent in a loss on Dec. 29, the highest shooting percentage by a Trojan opponent since 2003, USC has combined to hold its last eight opponents to a 43.1 shooting percentage (190-for-441). USC has held the opposition to an average of 67.0 points in that span (536 total). In the eight games, USC has registered 64 steals and forced 131 turnovers. USC is 7-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40 percent shooting and 9-1 when forcing the opposition into 15 or more turnovers.
STELLAR JANUARY -- USC is 6-1 in January, its best winning percentage in the month since also going 6-1 in January of 2000. The last time USC had a better Jannuary winning percentage was when it went 6-0 in the 1973 season. The last time USC won seven games in the month of January was the 1982 season (7-2). Â
J-MAC ENTERS PAC-12 TOP 10 IN CAREER ASSISTS -- USC senior guard Jordan McLaughlin registered 9 assists vs. Stanford on Jan. 24 to give hime 624 in his career and move him to 10th place on the Pac-12 all-time assist list. Â
1. 938 - Gary Payton, OSU            4. 780 - Brevin Knight, Stan.           7. 663 - Damon Stoudamire, Ariz.  Â
2. 833 - Pooh Richardson, UCLAÂ Â Â 5. 779 - Brandon Granville, USCÂ Â Â Â Â 8. 652 - Tyus Edney, UCLA
3. 810 - Russel Brown, Ariz.          6. 670 - Mustafa Shakur, Ariz.       9. 636 - Darrick Martin, UCLA
THE BENCH GANG -- As the Trojans have gotten healthier following early-season injuries, the bench has started to show the team's depth. Since Derryck Thornton returned to the lineup on Dec. 31 vs. Washington State, meaning the team was basically at full strength, USC's bench has outscored the opponent's bench 207-140. USC has averaged 25.9 points off the bench the past eight games, after averging 13.0 bench points in the first 14 games. USC now leads its opponents on bench points for the season at 379-375. Â
PROTECTING THE ROCK -- USC ranks 13th in the country with a 1.50 assist to turnover ratio through games of Jan. 25. USC also ranks tied for 17th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.0 per game. USC leads all Pac-12 teams in both categories.
STEWART IS A GAMER -- USC senior Elijah Stewart has played 124 career games as a Trojan, tied for second on USC's all-time list with Brandon Granville. Dwight Lewis played in the most games as a Trojan with 133. Stewart surpassed the 1,000 points scored mark during the win at Vanderbilt on Nov. 19 and now has 1,219 career points scored. Stewart has made 41 three-pointers this season to give him 216 career 3-point makes, third on USC's all-time list and 2 behind Brandon Granville, who is second on USC's all-time list with 218. Stewart has also played 124 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. Â
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BREAKING DOWN CALIFORNIA -- California (7-14, 1-7) is coming off a 70-57 loss at UCLA on Jan. 25. California won 77-74 at Stanford on Dec. 30 to open conference play, but has lost its last seven Pac-12 games. Don Coleman leads four Bears scoring in double figures with a 16.9 average, but did not play at UCLA due to a violation of team rules. USC won 80-62 at California on Jan. 4, but the Bears lead the all-time series 136-123, which reflects one USC win in 2008 vacated due to NCAA penalty.
USC HOLDS ON TO DEFEAT STANFORD -- USC raced out to a 15-point halftime lead, but didn't put away Stanford until Elijah Stewart flushed home a dunk just before the buzzer in a 69-64 win at the Galen Center on Jan. 24. With USC leading 67-64 and 13 seconds remaining, Jordan McLaughlin missed a pair of free throws, which gave Stanford a chance to tie. Daejon Davis, the hero in the first game with a 55-foot buzzer-beater, missed a three-pointer with 4 seconds remaining and USC was awarded the rebound. Jordan Usher then threw a long pass downcourt to Elijah Stewart who caught it and put an exclamation point on the win. USC made 58.1 percent of its first-half shots, but only 35.3 percent in the second half to finish with a 46.2 shooting percentage. The Trojans held Stanford to 44.0 percent shooting. USC forced 16 turnovers and made 9 steals. USC outscored Stanford 48-28 on points in the paint and 28-11 on bench points. Jonah Mathews came off the bench to lead USC with 18 points, making 4 of 6 three-pointers. Nick Rakocevic started in place of Bennie Boatwright, who missed the game with a sore right foot, and scored 9 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Chimezie Metu had a double-double (12 points/10 rebounds) and had a career-best 5 assists.
UCLA ON DECK - USC's next game will be at UCLA on Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. UCLA (14-7, 5-4) will host Stanford on Jan. 27 before taking on the Trojans. UCLA is 10-2 at home this season. UCLA is led in scoring by guard Aaron Holiday who is scoring 18.9 points per game. USC and UCLA split the regular season games last year with each team winning its home game, before UCLA defeated USC 76-74 in the Pac-12 quarterfinals. UCLA leads the all-time series 140-108, which reflects one win vacated by USC in 2008 due to NCAA penalty.
DEFENSIVE CHARGE -- Since allowing Washington to shoot 67.3 percent in a loss on Dec. 29, the highest shooting percentage by a Trojan opponent since 2003, USC has combined to hold its last eight opponents to a 43.1 shooting percentage (190-for-441). USC has held the opposition to an average of 67.0 points in that span (536 total). In the eight games, USC has registered 64 steals and forced 131 turnovers. USC is 7-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40 percent shooting and 9-1 when forcing the opposition into 15 or more turnovers.
STELLAR JANUARY -- USC is 6-1 in January, its best winning percentage in the month since also going 6-1 in January of 2000. The last time USC had a better Jannuary winning percentage was when it went 6-0 in the 1973 season. The last time USC won seven games in the month of January was the 1982 season (7-2). Â
J-MAC ENTERS PAC-12 TOP 10 IN CAREER ASSISTS -- USC senior guard Jordan McLaughlin registered 9 assists vs. Stanford on Jan. 24 to give hime 624 in his career and move him to 10th place on the Pac-12 all-time assist list. Â
1. 938 - Gary Payton, OSU            4. 780 - Brevin Knight, Stan.           7. 663 - Damon Stoudamire, Ariz.  Â
2. 833 - Pooh Richardson, UCLAÂ Â Â 5. 779 - Brandon Granville, USCÂ Â Â Â Â 8. 652 - Tyus Edney, UCLA
3. 810 - Russel Brown, Ariz.          6. 670 - Mustafa Shakur, Ariz.       9. 636 - Darrick Martin, UCLA
THE BENCH GANG -- As the Trojans have gotten healthier following early-season injuries, the bench has started to show the team's depth. Since Derryck Thornton returned to the lineup on Dec. 31 vs. Washington State, meaning the team was basically at full strength, USC's bench has outscored the opponent's bench 207-140. USC has averaged 25.9 points off the bench the past eight games, after averging 13.0 bench points in the first 14 games. USC now leads its opponents on bench points for the season at 379-375. Â
PROTECTING THE ROCK -- USC ranks 13th in the country with a 1.50 assist to turnover ratio through games of Jan. 25. USC also ranks tied for 17th in fewest turnovers per game at 11.0 per game. USC leads all Pac-12 teams in both categories.
STEWART IS A GAMER -- USC senior Elijah Stewart has played 124 career games as a Trojan, tied for second on USC's all-time list with Brandon Granville. Dwight Lewis played in the most games as a Trojan with 133. Stewart surpassed the 1,000 points scored mark during the win at Vanderbilt on Nov. 19 and now has 1,219 career points scored. Stewart has made 41 three-pointers this season to give him 216 career 3-point makes, third on USC's all-time list and 2 behind Brandon Granville, who is second on USC's all-time list with 218. Stewart has also played 124 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. Â
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