University Southern California Trojans
Friday, November 22
Los Angeles, Calif.
8:00 PM
USC
vs
Temple
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Percy Anderson
USC Closes Homestand Hosting Temple Friday
November 21, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Features
Trojans' last home game until Dec. 15
The USC Trojans (5-0) will host the Temple Owls (3-0) at the Galen Center on Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with Guy Haberman and Casey Jacobsen calling the action. USC has won its first five games of the 2019-20 season by seven or more points. That last time the Trojans won five consecutive games by seven or more points to start the season was the 1963 campaign. USC has started 5-0 for the fifth time in the last 45 seasons. The last time USC began a season 5-0 was the 2016-17 season when it won its first 14 games.
BREAKING DOWN TEMPLE -- Temple (3-0) opened with home wins over Drexel (70-62) and Morgan State (75-57) before winning at La Salle (70-65) on Nov. 16. The Owls went 23-10 last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament where it lost a First Four game to Belmont. Nate Pierre-Louis (18.7) and Quinton Rose (16.0) lead Temple in scoring. Temple is 8th in the country in steals per game with 12.3 per contest. USC leads the all-time series 5-2, but lost the last meeting 65-54 on Nov. 27, 1994.
USC WAVES GOODBYE TO PEPPERDINE -- Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 33 points, Nick Rakocevic had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and USC rallied from an early pair of double-digit deficits to beat Pepperdine 91-84 at the Galen Center on Nov. 19. Okongwu went 17 for 21 from the free throw line, the most makes by a Trojan in a game at the Galen Center and third all-time by a Trojan. His 33 points were also the most by a USC freshman since O.J. Mayo scored 37 on March 1, 2008 (participation later vacated due to NCAA penalty). The previous freshman with more points in a game was Harold Miner with 34 on Feb. 15, 1990. Jonah Mathews added 16 points and Isaiah Mobley had 14, 11 in the second half. Pepperdine hit 3 consecutive 3-pointers to cut USC's lead to 81-78 with 2:14 remaining, but Okongwu and Rakocevic finished things off from there. Okongwu hit a pair of free throws before dunking on Rakocevic's alley-oop pass. Rakocevic got fouled and made a pair of free throws that put the Trojans back up by nine. Colbey Ross kept the Waves in the game by making 6 3-pointers and scoring 38 points, the most by an opponent in regulation at the Galen Center.
PARTNERING WITH THE FOOD PANTRY -- USC Athletics is partnering with the Trojan Food Pantry to collect canned goods and other non-perishable items to support the USC Students experiencing food insecurity. Bring in a donation to Friday's men's basketball game and receive free tickets! Donations should be taken to the North Gate of Galen Center. In addition, the same offer is available for the women's basketball game vs. Texas A&M on Saturday (5:30 p.m.) and the women's volleyball match vs. Oregon on Sunday (1 p.m.).
TROJANS TO PLAY AT THE ORLANDO INVITATIONAL - USC will be playing in the 2019 Orlando Invitational in Orlando, Fla. from Nov. 28-Dec. 1 at HP Field House. USC will open up facing Fairfield of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Nov. 28. The winner of the game will face the winner of the Davidson/Marquette game on Nov. 29, with the other two teams facing off that day also. USC's final game at the Orlando Invitational will be on Dec. 1 vs. one of four teams: Harvard, Maryland, Temple and Texas A&M. The stocked field includes five teams which played in the 2019 postseason and four teams which won 23 or more games a year ago.
FAIRFIELD ON DECK -- USC will face Fairfield (1-4) at the Orlando Invitational on Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. PT. Fairfield is coming off a 74-55 loss at No. 6 Maryland on Nov. 19 and will not play again before facing the Trojans. Junior guard Jesus Cruz leads the Stags with a 18.2 scoring average. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
OKONGWU NEAR THE TOP OF THE CLASS -- Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu ranks 6th among all NCAA freshman with an 18.2 scoring average. He also ranks 3rd among freshmen in offensive rebounds per game (4.0), 4th in rebounds per game (9.4), 4th in blocks per game (2.4) and is tied for first in free throws made (23).
POUNDING THE GLASS - USC has averaged 14.6 offensive rebounds per game so far this season, tied for 23rd in the country and second in the Pac-12. Leading the way for USC are Onyeka Okongwu and Nick Rakocevic with 20 each. The pair is tied for 26th among all NCAA Division I players.
ANDERSON LEADS PAC-12 IN ASSISTS -- USC freshman point guard Ethan Anderson leads all Pac-12 players with 31 assists. That number is also tied for 15th in the country through games of Nov. 20. Anderson also has a 3.44 assist to turnover ratio, sixth among Pac-12 players and sixth nationally among freshmen.
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BREAKING DOWN TEMPLE -- Temple (3-0) opened with home wins over Drexel (70-62) and Morgan State (75-57) before winning at La Salle (70-65) on Nov. 16. The Owls went 23-10 last season, advancing to the NCAA Tournament where it lost a First Four game to Belmont. Nate Pierre-Louis (18.7) and Quinton Rose (16.0) lead Temple in scoring. Temple is 8th in the country in steals per game with 12.3 per contest. USC leads the all-time series 5-2, but lost the last meeting 65-54 on Nov. 27, 1994.
USC WAVES GOODBYE TO PEPPERDINE -- Onyeka Okongwu scored a career-high 33 points, Nick Rakocevic had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and USC rallied from an early pair of double-digit deficits to beat Pepperdine 91-84 at the Galen Center on Nov. 19. Okongwu went 17 for 21 from the free throw line, the most makes by a Trojan in a game at the Galen Center and third all-time by a Trojan. His 33 points were also the most by a USC freshman since O.J. Mayo scored 37 on March 1, 2008 (participation later vacated due to NCAA penalty). The previous freshman with more points in a game was Harold Miner with 34 on Feb. 15, 1990. Jonah Mathews added 16 points and Isaiah Mobley had 14, 11 in the second half. Pepperdine hit 3 consecutive 3-pointers to cut USC's lead to 81-78 with 2:14 remaining, but Okongwu and Rakocevic finished things off from there. Okongwu hit a pair of free throws before dunking on Rakocevic's alley-oop pass. Rakocevic got fouled and made a pair of free throws that put the Trojans back up by nine. Colbey Ross kept the Waves in the game by making 6 3-pointers and scoring 38 points, the most by an opponent in regulation at the Galen Center.
PARTNERING WITH THE FOOD PANTRY -- USC Athletics is partnering with the Trojan Food Pantry to collect canned goods and other non-perishable items to support the USC Students experiencing food insecurity. Bring in a donation to Friday's men's basketball game and receive free tickets! Donations should be taken to the North Gate of Galen Center. In addition, the same offer is available for the women's basketball game vs. Texas A&M on Saturday (5:30 p.m.) and the women's volleyball match vs. Oregon on Sunday (1 p.m.).
TROJANS TO PLAY AT THE ORLANDO INVITATIONAL - USC will be playing in the 2019 Orlando Invitational in Orlando, Fla. from Nov. 28-Dec. 1 at HP Field House. USC will open up facing Fairfield of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Nov. 28. The winner of the game will face the winner of the Davidson/Marquette game on Nov. 29, with the other two teams facing off that day also. USC's final game at the Orlando Invitational will be on Dec. 1 vs. one of four teams: Harvard, Maryland, Temple and Texas A&M. The stocked field includes five teams which played in the 2019 postseason and four teams which won 23 or more games a year ago.
FAIRFIELD ON DECK -- USC will face Fairfield (1-4) at the Orlando Invitational on Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. PT. Fairfield is coming off a 74-55 loss at No. 6 Maryland on Nov. 19 and will not play again before facing the Trojans. Junior guard Jesus Cruz leads the Stags with a 18.2 scoring average. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
OKONGWU NEAR THE TOP OF THE CLASS -- Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu ranks 6th among all NCAA freshman with an 18.2 scoring average. He also ranks 3rd among freshmen in offensive rebounds per game (4.0), 4th in rebounds per game (9.4), 4th in blocks per game (2.4) and is tied for first in free throws made (23).
POUNDING THE GLASS - USC has averaged 14.6 offensive rebounds per game so far this season, tied for 23rd in the country and second in the Pac-12. Leading the way for USC are Onyeka Okongwu and Nick Rakocevic with 20 each. The pair is tied for 26th among all NCAA Division I players.
ANDERSON LEADS PAC-12 IN ASSISTS -- USC freshman point guard Ethan Anderson leads all Pac-12 players with 31 assists. That number is also tied for 15th in the country through games of Nov. 20. Anderson also has a 3.44 assist to turnover ratio, sixth among Pac-12 players and sixth nationally among freshmen.
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