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Photo by: Hali Helfgott
USC Eyes Thanksgiving Encounter With Fairfield At The Orlando Invitational
November 26, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Features
Thursday's game airs at 1 p.m. (PT) on ESPNU
The USC Trojans (5-1) will face the Fairfield Stags (1-4) in the Orlando Invitational at the HP Field House in Orlando, Fla. on Nov. 28 at 1 p.m. PT. The game will air on ESPNU with Ted Emrich and Andy Kennedy calling the action.
GONE FROM GALEN -- Eight of USC's next 10 games will be played away from the Galen Center. USC will play three games at the Orlando Invitational (Nov. 28, Nov. 29 and Dec. 1), then at TCU to open Dickies Arena on Dec. 6, home vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 15, at Staples Center (in L.A.) vs. LSU on Dec. 21, home vs. FGCU on Dec. 29, then the Trojans will open the new year and the conference season with three road games - at Washington St. (Jan. 2), at Washington (Jan. 5) and at UCLA on Jan. 11).
BREAKING DOWN FAIRFIELD -- Fairfield is coming off a 74-55 loss at then-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.
USC SUFFERS FIRST LOSS -- Temple used a 22-4 run early in the second half to take control and hung on to defeat USC 70-61 on Nov. 22. USC trailed by 9 points in the 1st half and didn't take its first lead until 16 seconds remained before the break, but a Temple steal and layup sent the Owls to the locker room with a 31-30 lead. USC began the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 38-31 lead, but Temple responded with its 22-4 run over the next seven and a half minutes to take a 53-42 with 9:32 remaining and USC got no closer than 5 points the rest of the way. USC was outrebounded for the first time this season as Owls won the boards 24-16 in the second half to finish with a 42-38 advantage on the glass. USC fell to 33-5 in its last 38 home nonconference games. USC committed 13 turnovers which lead to a 21-8 Temple advantage on points off turnovers. Onyeka Okongwu had 17 points and five blocks and Ethan Anderson had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
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.
DAVIDSON OR MARQUETTE ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against either Davidson (2-3) or Marquette (3-1) on Nov. 29. The winner of the USC-Fairfield game will play the winner of the Davidson-Marquette game on Nov. 29 at 4/4:30 p.m. on ESPN2/U. The other two teams will play the same day at 6:30/7 on ESPN2/U/News.
OKONGWU NEAR THE TOP OF THE CLASS -- Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu ranks 5th among all NCAA freshman with an 18.0 scoring average. He also ranks 2nd among all freshmen in free throws made (35), 3rd in blocks per game (3.0), 4th in shooting percentage (60.6), T-5th in rebounds per game (8.8), and T-5th in offensive rebounds per game (3.5).
BAHAR IS A RISING STAR -- USC director of scouting Martin Bahar spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Fairfield (2012-15) prior to joining the USC staff for the 2015-16 season. During his time as an assistant coach at Fairfield, Bahar coached three of the top five all-time leading scorers in school history. During his first four seasons at USC, one as an assistant coach, USC has set the program record for wins (87) in a four-year stretch.
IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING -- USC freshman point guard Ethan Anderson leads all Pac-12 players with 36 assists. His assist total is tied for 19th in the country and second among all freshman through games of Nov. 25. Anderson also has a 2.77 assist to turnover ratio, third among Pac-12 players.
OKONGWU NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN & PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Nov. 25) -- Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in USC's two games to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and the Player of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 18-24, it was announced by the Pac-12 today (Nov. 25). With the Freshman of the Week being a new honor this season, Okongwu becomes the first player to earn both awards in the same week. In the 91-84 win over Pepperdine on Nov. 19, Okongwu scored a career-high 33 points, while grabbing five rebounds and making two blocks. The 33 points scored were the most by a USC freshman in a game since O.J. Mayo scored 37 on March 1, 2008 at Arizona State (player participation later vacated due to NCAA penalty, previous USC freshman with more points was Harold Miner with 34 on February 15, 1990 vs. Stanford). The 6-9 forward also made 17 of 21 free throws (81.0 percent) in the game against Pepperdine to set the record for most free throws made in a game by an individual at the Galen Center and it was also the third-most free throws ever made in any game by a Trojan. The last Trojan to make more free throws in a game was John Block on Feb. 11, 1966 vs. Washington when he set the school record with 21. The 17 free throws made are currently tied for the most by an NCAA Division I player this season and were the most by a Conference player since Stanford's Reid Travis (19) in Dec. 2016. Okongwu followed that game up with 17 points, six rebounds and five blocks in the 70-61 loss to undefeated Temple on Nov. 22.
LAST TIME AT THE ORLANDO INVITATIONAL -- USC last played at the Orlando Invitational in 2015, defeating No. 20 Wichita State 72-69 on Nov. 26, falling to No. 23 Xavier 87-77 on Nov. 27 and losing to Monmouth 83-73 on Nov. 29. USC had entered the tournament with a 4-0 record, including a home win vs. Monmouth on Nov. 16. USC point guard Jordan McLaughlin broke his nose in the game vs. Xavier and sat out the second half, then was fitted with a protective mask for the game with Monmouth, but stuggled, going 2-for-8 from the field and 0-for-4 from the free throw line. USC responded to the 1-2 Orlando Invitational tournament result to win its next seven games.
MATHEWS & RAKOCEVIC SHARING SENIOR SUCCESS - USC senior guard Jonah Mathews (1,033 career points) and senior forward Nick Rakocevic (1,047 career points) both surpassed 1,000 career points scored in the game vs. South Dakota State on Nov. 12. They became the 41st and 42nd Trojans to register 1,000 or more career points in a USC uniform and became the first pair of Trojans to accomplish the feat in the same game since Don Carfino and Purvis Miller vs. Oregon in 1980. Rakocevic also has 714 career rebounds which ranks 13th on USC's all-time list and 11th among active players. He now has 23 career double-doubles which ranks 14th among active players. Mathews has made 189 career three-point baskets, sixth on USC's all-time list and tied for 39th among active players.
GONE FROM GALEN -- Eight of USC's next 10 games will be played away from the Galen Center. USC will play three games at the Orlando Invitational (Nov. 28, Nov. 29 and Dec. 1), then at TCU to open Dickies Arena on Dec. 6, home vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 15, at Staples Center (in L.A.) vs. LSU on Dec. 21, home vs. FGCU on Dec. 29, then the Trojans will open the new year and the conference season with three road games - at Washington St. (Jan. 2), at Washington (Jan. 5) and at UCLA on Jan. 11).
BREAKING DOWN FAIRFIELD -- Fairfield is coming off a 74-55 loss at then-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.
USC SUFFERS FIRST LOSS -- Temple used a 22-4 run early in the second half to take control and hung on to defeat USC 70-61 on Nov. 22. USC trailed by 9 points in the 1st half and didn't take its first lead until 16 seconds remained before the break, but a Temple steal and layup sent the Owls to the locker room with a 31-30 lead. USC began the second half on an 8-0 run to take a 38-31 lead, but Temple responded with its 22-4 run over the next seven and a half minutes to take a 53-42 with 9:32 remaining and USC got no closer than 5 points the rest of the way. USC was outrebounded for the first time this season as Owls won the boards 24-16 in the second half to finish with a 42-38 advantage on the glass. USC fell to 33-5 in its last 38 home nonconference games. USC committed 13 turnovers which lead to a 21-8 Temple advantage on points off turnovers. Onyeka Okongwu had 17 points and five blocks and Ethan Anderson had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
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.
DAVIDSON OR MARQUETTE ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against either Davidson (2-3) or Marquette (3-1) on Nov. 29. The winner of the USC-Fairfield game will play the winner of the Davidson-Marquette game on Nov. 29 at 4/4:30 p.m. on ESPN2/U. The other two teams will play the same day at 6:30/7 on ESPN2/U/News.
OKONGWU NEAR THE TOP OF THE CLASS -- Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu ranks 5th among all NCAA freshman with an 18.0 scoring average. He also ranks 2nd among all freshmen in free throws made (35), 3rd in blocks per game (3.0), 4th in shooting percentage (60.6), T-5th in rebounds per game (8.8), and T-5th in offensive rebounds per game (3.5).
BAHAR IS A RISING STAR -- USC director of scouting Martin Bahar spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at Fairfield (2012-15) prior to joining the USC staff for the 2015-16 season. During his time as an assistant coach at Fairfield, Bahar coached three of the top five all-time leading scorers in school history. During his first four seasons at USC, one as an assistant coach, USC has set the program record for wins (87) in a four-year stretch.
IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING -- USC freshman point guard Ethan Anderson leads all Pac-12 players with 36 assists. His assist total is tied for 19th in the country and second among all freshman through games of Nov. 25. Anderson also has a 2.77 assist to turnover ratio, third among Pac-12 players.
OKONGWU NAMED PAC-12 FRESHMAN & PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Nov. 25) -- Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu averaged 25.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks in USC's two games to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week and the Player of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 18-24, it was announced by the Pac-12 today (Nov. 25). With the Freshman of the Week being a new honor this season, Okongwu becomes the first player to earn both awards in the same week. In the 91-84 win over Pepperdine on Nov. 19, Okongwu scored a career-high 33 points, while grabbing five rebounds and making two blocks. The 33 points scored were the most by a USC freshman in a game since O.J. Mayo scored 37 on March 1, 2008 at Arizona State (player participation later vacated due to NCAA penalty, previous USC freshman with more points was Harold Miner with 34 on February 15, 1990 vs. Stanford). The 6-9 forward also made 17 of 21 free throws (81.0 percent) in the game against Pepperdine to set the record for most free throws made in a game by an individual at the Galen Center and it was also the third-most free throws ever made in any game by a Trojan. The last Trojan to make more free throws in a game was John Block on Feb. 11, 1966 vs. Washington when he set the school record with 21. The 17 free throws made are currently tied for the most by an NCAA Division I player this season and were the most by a Conference player since Stanford's Reid Travis (19) in Dec. 2016. Okongwu followed that game up with 17 points, six rebounds and five blocks in the 70-61 loss to undefeated Temple on Nov. 22.
LAST TIME AT THE ORLANDO INVITATIONAL -- USC last played at the Orlando Invitational in 2015, defeating No. 20 Wichita State 72-69 on Nov. 26, falling to No. 23 Xavier 87-77 on Nov. 27 and losing to Monmouth 83-73 on Nov. 29. USC had entered the tournament with a 4-0 record, including a home win vs. Monmouth on Nov. 16. USC point guard Jordan McLaughlin broke his nose in the game vs. Xavier and sat out the second half, then was fitted with a protective mask for the game with Monmouth, but stuggled, going 2-for-8 from the field and 0-for-4 from the free throw line. USC responded to the 1-2 Orlando Invitational tournament result to win its next seven games.
MATHEWS & RAKOCEVIC SHARING SENIOR SUCCESS - USC senior guard Jonah Mathews (1,033 career points) and senior forward Nick Rakocevic (1,047 career points) both surpassed 1,000 career points scored in the game vs. South Dakota State on Nov. 12. They became the 41st and 42nd Trojans to register 1,000 or more career points in a USC uniform and became the first pair of Trojans to accomplish the feat in the same game since Don Carfino and Purvis Miller vs. Oregon in 1980. Rakocevic also has 714 career rebounds which ranks 13th on USC's all-time list and 11th among active players. He now has 23 career double-doubles which ranks 14th among active players. Mathews has made 189 career three-point baskets, sixth on USC's all-time list and tied for 39th among active players.
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