USC Athletics

The USC Trojans (11-5, 2-1) are playing the Stanford Cardinal (7-8, 1-1) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, Calif. on Jan. 7 at 7:00 p.m.  USC is attempting to win its first two conference road games for the first time since 2007 at the Oregon schools.

BREAKING DOWN THE CARDINAL  --  Stanford is coming off a 107-99 double-overtime win against UCLA on Jan. 4.  Redshirt junior Reid Travis leads Stanford with a 20.7 scoring average.  USC trails in the all-time series with Stanford 123-125, which reflects one win vacated in 2008 due to NCAA penalty.  USC did not play at Stanford last season and is 2-12 in its last 14 games at Maples Pavilion.  USC has lost three straight at Stanford, last winning 65-64 in 2013.

USC WINS BIG AT CAL -- USC turned up the defense on California and rolled to an 80-62 win at Haas Pavilion on Jan. 4. The win was USC's first at California since 2011 and snapped a five-game losing streak for the Trojans at Cal.  USC held California to 30.8 percent shooting and 20 points in the 1st half, while forcing 15 turnovers. After Cal had cut it to 10-8 at the 14:00 minute mark, USC held the Bears to 2 points over the next 11 minutes to take a 29-10 lead and were never challenged after that.  USC led by as many as 30 points in the second half.  Cal shot 39.7 percent for the game, despite making 4 of its last 5 shots including 3 three-pointers in the waning minutes.   USC forced Cal into 22 turnovers and outscored it 27-6 on points off turnovers.  USC had 11 steals, reaching double-figures in steals for the second consecutive game.  Nick Rakocevic had a career-high 19 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.  Jordan Usher came off the bench to post a season-best 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting and registered 4 steals.  Bennie Boatwright chipped in with 15 points. Nine different Trojans played at least 11 minutes, and no player logged more than 27 minutes.

COLORADO ON DECK - USC's next game be vs. Colorado (9-6, 1-2) at the Galen Center on Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.  Colorado defeated No. 4 Arizona State 90-81 in overtime on Jan. 4 and will host No. 14 Arizona before traveling to Los Angeles.  Freshman McKinley Wright leads Colorado with a 16.2 scoring average.  USC defeated Colorado 71-68 in Los Angeles last season in the only meeting between the two teams.  USC trails in the all-time series against Colorado, 5-9.  USC
has won its last two games against Colorado, after losing the first seven since it joined the Pac-12.

STINGY ON THE SWEEPS -- Since the Pac-12 formed (2012 season), USC has registered one conference road sweep, that being last season at the Washington schools.  Four Pac-12 teams have yet to register a road sweep in conference play.  USC last swept the trip to the Bay Area in 2011 as part of the Pac-10 when it defeated Cal 78-75 on Feb. 17 and then Stanford 69-53 on Feb. 19.

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 two opponents (Washington State and Cal) to a 39.7 shooting percentage (46-for-116).  In the two games, USC has registered 21 steals and forced 39 turnovers.  USC is 6-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40 percent shooting.

MR. BUCKETS FILLING IT UP -- Bennie "Buckets" Boatwright has scored 21.6 points per game (108 total) over the last five contests. He has also made 16 three-pointers in that stretch.

OFFENSE STARTING TO CLICK -- USC has scored 80 or more points in nine of its last 10 games for an average of 85.6 points per game (856 total).  USC is making 50.8 percent (308-for-606) of its shots in that stretch.

SECOND TIME AROUND -- In the last 10 games, USC is making 56.1 percent of its shots in the second half (169-for-301).  For the year, USC is shooting 51.1 percent (245-for-479) after the break (not including overtime).

McLAUGHLIN STANDS FOR CLASS -- Senior guard Jordan McLaughlin was one of 30 men's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court who were named on Jan. 4 as candidates for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate basketball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.