USC To Host Western Kentucky In NIT Second Round On March 19

The No. 1 seed USC Trojans (24-11, 12-6) will host the No. 4 seed Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (25-10, 14-4) in an NIT second-round game at the Galen Center on March 19 at 8:30 p.m. The winner of this game will face the winner of the Stanford/Oklahoma State game in the round of 8 on March 21, with a chance to advance to the NIT semifinals on March 27 at Madison Square Garden, in New York, N.Y.

THE 2017-18 SEASON - USC is 24-11 in 2017-18, the seventh time is school history it has won 24 or more games. USC went 12-6 in Pac-12 play to finish second, its highest finish since tying for second in 2002 and its first outright second-place finish since 1992. USC's 12 Pac-12 wins were its most since also going 12-6 in 2002. USC has won 7 of its last 9 and 13 of its last 18 games.

SUCCESSFUL STRETCH -- USC has won 20 or more games for the third consecutive season, just the second time in school history (2007-09). The 2008 team was 21-12, but had 21 wins and one loss vacated due to NCAA penalty, so technically this is the first time in school history with three consecutive 20-win seasons. The 71 wins over the past three seasons is the most in a three-season stretch in school history.

USC IN THE NIT -- USC has played in the NIT four other times, the last time being the 1999 season when it lost in the first round at Wyoming 81-77. USC also played in the NIT in 1973, 1993 and 1994. USC is 3-4 all-time in NIT action.

USC AGAINST WESTERN KENTUCKY -- USC is 1-1 all-time against Western Kentucky, falling 82-52 in the 1987 season and winning 53-47 in the 1988 season. Western Kentucky is 25-10 and finished third in the C-USA standings this season. The Hilltoppers are led in scoring (15.4) and rebounding (9.6) by All-C-USA senior forward Justin Johnson. WKU has outscored its opponents by 345 points in the paint.

STILL MADNESS IN MARCH AS USC DEFEATS UNCA IN 2 OT -- Seniors Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart refused to lose and sophomore Nick Rakocevic had a huge double-double to lead USC to a 103-98 double-overtime win over UNC Asheville in the opening round of the NIT at the Galen Center on March 13. McLaughlin sent the game into overtime at 70-all by hitting a pair of free throws with 25 seconds remaining, as USC overcame a 4-point deficit with 2:50 remaining. McLaughlin then hit a 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining in the 1st OT to tie it at 85-all and sent it to the 2nd OT period. In the 2nd OT, Elijah Stewart scored USC's final 7 points to secure the win after trailing by 6 points early in the 2nd OT. McLaughlin hit a jumper with 36 seconds remaining to give USC the lead for good at 96-95 and Stewart did the rest. Rakocevic scored a career-high 24 points and added a career-best 19 rebounds. He nearly became the 1st Trojan since Derrick Dowell in 1985 to post a 20-20 game. His 19 rebounds were the most by a Trojan since David Bluthenthal tied the school record with 28 rebounds vs. ASU in 2000. McLaughlin finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Stewart added 22 points. The 103 points scored were the most by USC since also scoring 103 vs. Arizona on Jan. 9, 2016 (4 OT). USC made 51.3 percent of its shots and UNCA made 46.7 percent. Chimezie Metu elected to sit out the game to avoid potential injury before the NBA Draft.

McLAUGHLIN A COUSY AWARD FINALIST -- Jordan McLaughlin is one of 10 players remaining on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. McLaughlin, a three-year team captain, is averaging 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists this season. McLaughlin leads all Pac-12 players this season in assists with 267, which is third nationally. Last season he was the only player in the country with at least three assists in every game and he has accomplished that in all 35 games this season as well, running his nation's longest streak to 72 consecutive games with at least three assists (dating back to the 2015-16 season).

GOOD BALANCE -- USC was the only team in Pac-12 play to rank in the top 5 in scoring offense (5th, 75.8) and scoring defense (2nd, 70.0). Its +5.8 scoring margin was 2nd in Pac-12 play.

PROTECTING THE ROCK -- USC ranks 15th in the country with a 1.46 assist to turnover ratio through games of March 16. USC also ranks 18th in fewest turnovers per game at 10.7 per game. USC leads all Pac-12 teams in both categories.

IN THE NICK OF TIME -- USC forward Nick Rakocevic has provided steady production all season first coming off the bench and now as a starter. With Chimezie Metu deciding to sit out the game vs. UNC Asheville on March 13, Rakocevic responded as the main inside presence with career highs in points (24) and rebounds (19), his fourth career double-double. His 19 rebounds were the most by a Trojan since David Bluthenthal tied the school record with 28 vs. ASU in 2000. Rakocevic also fell one rebound short of becoming the first Trojan with a 20-point/20-rebound game since Derrick Dowell vs. UCLA on Feb. 1, 1985. He leads USC with 94 offensive rebounds and ranked seventh in the conference during the regular season with 2.5 offensive rebounds per game. He has scored 120 points and grabbed 98 rebounds in the last 12 games for an average of 10.0 points and 8.2. Rakocevic has made a team-leading 62.4 percent of his shots this season and in Pac-12 games, he was second among all players with a 62.0 shooting percentage.

McLAUGHLIN IN EXCLUSIVE GROUP -- Jordan McLaughlin has 724 career assists and 1,635 career points scored, only the third player in conference history to surpass 700 career assists and 1,600 career points scored, joining Gary Payton of Oregon State (2,172 points/938 assists) and Brevin Knight of Stanford (1,714 points/780 assists). Earlier in the year, he became the sixth player in Pac-12 history to surpass 600 career assists and 1,500 points, along with Payton, Knight, Tyus Edney (UCLA), Jason Gardner (Arizona) and Damon Stoudamire (Arizona). Also, Andre Miller of current Pac-12 school Utah accomplished the feat (1,618 points/721 assists).

USC AT THE PAC-12 TOURNAMENT -- USC reached the Pac-12 Tournament final for the first time since winning the title in 2009 behind Tournament MVP DeMar DeRozan, beating ASU and James Harden 66-63. USC defeated Oregon State 61-48 in the quarterfinals on March 8 and Oregon 74-58 in the semifinal on March 9, before falling 75-61 vs. Arizona in the title game on March 10. Guards Jonah Mathews and Jordan McLaughlin were named to the All-Tournament Team.

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 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists this season. He leads all Pac-12 players in assists per game and is second in steals per game (2.0). He also ranks third nationally in assists per game (7.6) and is third in total assists (267), behind Emmett Naar of St. Mary's (268) and Trea Young of Oklahoma (279). McLaughlin ranks second on USC's all-time list and is fourth among current players with 724 career assists. He also ranks 3rd in steals (210), 5th in three-pointers (184), 4th in scoring (1,635), 3rd in games played (127) and 1st in minutes played on USC's all-time lists.

Players Mentioned

Jonah Mathews

Jordan McLaughlin

Chimezie Metu

Nick Rakocevic

Elijah Stewart