USC Opens Pac-12 Play Hosting California Thursday

The USC Trojans (7-6) will host the California Golden Bears (5-7) at the Galen Center on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. The game will be USC's first Pac-12 Conference game of the season.

BACK IN THE PAC - USC begins Pac-12 Conference play hosting California on Jan. 3 and will play five of its first seven games at home. USC went 12-6 to finish second in the conference last season and fell to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament title game. USC's 12 wins in the Pac-12 last season were its most wins since also winning 12 games in 2002. USC's outright second-place finish was its highest since also finishing second in Pac-12 play in 1992.

BREAKING DOWN CALIFORNIA - California is coming off an 82-73 home loss to Seattle on Dec. 29. Paris Austin leads five Bears averaging double figures in points with a 14.2 average.USC won both games against California last season, but trails the all-time series 136-124 (1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 136-125).

USC DEFEATS UC DAVIS TO CLOSE NONCONFERENCE PLAY - USC closed out the nonconference schedule with a 73-55 win over UC Davis at the Galen Center on Dec. 30. USC led 32-30 at halftime and there were 10 lead changes and seven ties before USC started to pull away mid-second half. USC led 53-49 with eight minutes remaining when the Trojans went on an 7-0 run to open up an 11-point lead and never looked back. Bennie Boatwright led USC with 19 points and 8 rebounds and Derryck Thornton added 16 points and 6 assists. USC trailed by 7 points at 28-21 with 3:56 remaining in the first half before going on an 11-2 run to close out the half. Elijah Weaver scored 3 points, had 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the Trojans' run and finished with a career-best 13 points. USC made 64.0 percent of its shots in the second half and finished the game making 52.7 percent overall. USC also made 9 steals, forced 15 turnovers and held UC Davis to 40.0 percent shooting. USC made 7 of 10 three-pointers in the second half and made 10 of 23 for the game (43.5 percent).

STANFORD ON DECK - USC's next game will be vs. Stanford at the Galen Center on Jan. 6 at 5 p.m. The Cardinal (7-5) will play at UCLA on Jan. 3 before facing USC. Stanford defeated Long Beach State 93-86 at home on Dec. 29 and has won three of its last four games. Sophomore forward KZ Okpala leads Stanford with a 16.6 scoring average. USC split the season series with Stanford last season, but trails the all-time series 124-126* (1 USC win vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 125-126).

SHARING IS CARING - USC has averaged 20.4 assists in its wins and 11.2 assists in its losses. USC had 20 assists in its last game vs. UC Davis on Dec. 30 and has had 15 or more assists in eight of its first 13 games. USC leads Pac-12 teams with 210 assists. Derryck Thornton leads USC and is fifth in the conference with 54 assists.

THE BOAT STARTING TO SAIL - USC senior forward Bennie Boatwright has averaged 17.0 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in the last three games. He has also made 47.5 percent of his shots in the three games (19-for-40).

USHER ASKS FOR AND RECEIVES ATHLETIC TRANSFER - After missing the UC Davis game on Dec. 30 for conduct issues and being suspended indefinitely, USC wing Jordan Usher elected to transfer, announcing his decision on Jan. 1: "With the help of my family, mentors and the USC basketball progam, an athletic transfer has been requested and granted. My sincere gratitude for the opportunity and support provided. I wish my teammates and coaches a successful remaining conference schedule." Usher averaged 8.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in USC's first 12 games.

CHALLENGING COMPETITION - The six teams USC has lost to this season (Vanderbilt, Texas Tech, Nevada, TCU, Oklahoma & Santa Clara) have a combined 63-12 record. USC has also played four teams with one loss or less, including current No. 6 Nevada, No. 11 Texas Tech and No. 23 Oklahoma. There are only 19 teams remaining with one loss or less this season.

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Players Mentioned

Bennie Boatwright

Derryck Thornton

Jordan Usher

Elijah Weaver