Saturday, February 2
Pullman, Wash.
4:00 PM
USC
at
Washington State
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Hali Helfgott
USC To Play At Washington State Saturday
January 31, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Features
Trojans seek first road win of the season
The USC Trojans (12-9, 5-3) take on the Washington State Cougars (8-13, 1-7) at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. on Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. USC has won seven of its last 10 games. USC is 0-4 on the road this season and 0-3 on the road in Pac-12 play.
BREAKING DOWN WASHINGTON STATE - Washington State (8-13, 1-7) is coming off an 87-67 home loss to UCLA on Jan. 20. WSU has lost 10 of its last 11 games, but is 8-3 at home this season. Senior forward Robert Franks leads the Cougars in scoring (21.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). USC has won its last five games against WSU and has won three straight in Pullman, Wash. USC leads the all-time series with Washington State 74-48.
USC FALLS AT WASHINGTON - Washington raced out to a 15-4 lead and never trailed in a 75-62 win over USC in Seattle, Wash. on Jan. 30. USC twice cut the lead to two points before halftime, but Washington took a 36-25 lead into the break. The Trojans kept making surges in the second half, getting to within three points at 38-35, but could get no closer the rest of the way. A pair of free throws by Nick Rakocevic and a jumper by Bennie Boatwright cut the lead to seven at 62-55 with five minutes remaining, but Washington answered with an 8-0 run to put the game away. Rakocevic posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out and Boatwright added a game-high 22 points. USC was outrebounded 40-28, with Washington getting 17 offensive rebounds which led to a 24-10 advantage on second chance points. USC was also outscored 16-0 on fastbreak points. Washington had 14 steals, the most by a USC opponent since Washington also had 15 vs. USC on Jan. 3, 2016. Â
UTAH ON DECK - USC's next game will be vs. the Utah Utes (11-8, 5-2) at the Galen Center on Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Utah will host Oregon on Jan. 31 and Oregon State on Feb. 2 before traveling to Los Angeles. Senior guard Sedrick Barefield leads the Utes in scoring with a 16.2 scoring average. USC has won its last two games against Utah, winning both games last season: 84-67 at USC and 74-58 in Utah. Prior to that, Utah had defeated USC eight consecutive times. USC trails in the all-time series with Utah, 19-22.
RAKOCEVIC CONTINUES HIS ROLL - USC junior forward Nick Rakocevic matched a career high with 27 points and added 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season vs. Arizona on Jan. 24, scored 15 points and had 9 rebounds vs. Arizona State on Jan. 26 and his 10th double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds at Washington on Jan. 30. He has scored at least 15 points in 13 games and has at least 8 rebounds in 15 games.   Rakocevic is averaging 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He currently ranks among the Pac-12's top 10 in five categories: rebounds (2nd), blocked shots (4th), field goal percentage (9th), offensive rebounds (2nd) and defensive rebounds (3rd) and ranks 11th in scoring average. Â
THE "BOAT" SETTING SAIL - USC senior forward Bennie Boatwright has averaged 19.5 points (214 total), 7.3 rebounds (80 total) and 2.7 assists (30 total) in the last 12 games. He has also made 49.4 percent of his shots in those games (77-for-156). Boatwright scored a career-best 37 points on 14 of 24 shooting (4 of 9 from 3-point range) at Oregon St. on Jan. 10. His 37 points scored were tied for the 11th best all-time in a game by a USC player and the most since 2008. His 14 FGs also tied him for the 10th-most in a game in school history, last done by Brian Scalabrine in 2000. He is 2nd among Pac-12 players with a 20.4 scoring average in Pac-12 play.
ROCKY ROAD - With the loss at Washington on Jan. 30, USC fell to 0-5 on the road this season. In addition, USC is 1-7 in games away from home.
BOARD GAMES NOT ALWAYS FUN - After registering a season-best 51 rebounds and outrebounding Arizona by a season-best 12 rebounds on Jan. 24, USC has been outrebounded 89-63 in the last two games, its two worse rebounding deficit games of the season (-14 vs. ASU & -12 at Washington).
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BREAKING DOWN WASHINGTON STATE - Washington State (8-13, 1-7) is coming off an 87-67 home loss to UCLA on Jan. 20. WSU has lost 10 of its last 11 games, but is 8-3 at home this season. Senior forward Robert Franks leads the Cougars in scoring (21.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg). USC has won its last five games against WSU and has won three straight in Pullman, Wash. USC leads the all-time series with Washington State 74-48.
USC FALLS AT WASHINGTON - Washington raced out to a 15-4 lead and never trailed in a 75-62 win over USC in Seattle, Wash. on Jan. 30. USC twice cut the lead to two points before halftime, but Washington took a 36-25 lead into the break. The Trojans kept making surges in the second half, getting to within three points at 38-35, but could get no closer the rest of the way. A pair of free throws by Nick Rakocevic and a jumper by Bennie Boatwright cut the lead to seven at 62-55 with five minutes remaining, but Washington answered with an 8-0 run to put the game away. Rakocevic posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out and Boatwright added a game-high 22 points. USC was outrebounded 40-28, with Washington getting 17 offensive rebounds which led to a 24-10 advantage on second chance points. USC was also outscored 16-0 on fastbreak points. Washington had 14 steals, the most by a USC opponent since Washington also had 15 vs. USC on Jan. 3, 2016. Â
UTAH ON DECK - USC's next game will be vs. the Utah Utes (11-8, 5-2) at the Galen Center on Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. Utah will host Oregon on Jan. 31 and Oregon State on Feb. 2 before traveling to Los Angeles. Senior guard Sedrick Barefield leads the Utes in scoring with a 16.2 scoring average. USC has won its last two games against Utah, winning both games last season: 84-67 at USC and 74-58 in Utah. Prior to that, Utah had defeated USC eight consecutive times. USC trails in the all-time series with Utah, 19-22.
RAKOCEVIC CONTINUES HIS ROLL - USC junior forward Nick Rakocevic matched a career high with 27 points and added 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season vs. Arizona on Jan. 24, scored 15 points and had 9 rebounds vs. Arizona State on Jan. 26 and his 10th double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds at Washington on Jan. 30. He has scored at least 15 points in 13 games and has at least 8 rebounds in 15 games.   Rakocevic is averaging 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He currently ranks among the Pac-12's top 10 in five categories: rebounds (2nd), blocked shots (4th), field goal percentage (9th), offensive rebounds (2nd) and defensive rebounds (3rd) and ranks 11th in scoring average. Â
THE "BOAT" SETTING SAIL - USC senior forward Bennie Boatwright has averaged 19.5 points (214 total), 7.3 rebounds (80 total) and 2.7 assists (30 total) in the last 12 games. He has also made 49.4 percent of his shots in those games (77-for-156). Boatwright scored a career-best 37 points on 14 of 24 shooting (4 of 9 from 3-point range) at Oregon St. on Jan. 10. His 37 points scored were tied for the 11th best all-time in a game by a USC player and the most since 2008. His 14 FGs also tied him for the 10th-most in a game in school history, last done by Brian Scalabrine in 2000. He is 2nd among Pac-12 players with a 20.4 scoring average in Pac-12 play.
ROCKY ROAD - With the loss at Washington on Jan. 30, USC fell to 0-5 on the road this season. In addition, USC is 1-7 in games away from home.
BOARD GAMES NOT ALWAYS FUN - After registering a season-best 51 rebounds and outrebounding Arizona by a season-best 12 rebounds on Jan. 24, USC has been outrebounded 89-63 in the last two games, its two worse rebounding deficit games of the season (-14 vs. ASU & -12 at Washington).
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