USC Men's Basketball To Face LSU At STAPLES Center Saturday

The USC Trojans (9-2) will face the LSU Tigers (7-3) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Staples Center on Dec. 21 at 6:00 p.m. The game will air on FS1 with Guy Haberman and Casey Jacobsen calling the action. USC is playing in its fourth consecutive Hall of Fame Classic, defeating BYU in 2017 and falling to Oklahoma in 2018 and TCU in 2019.

BREAKING DOWN LSU -- LSU (7-3) is coming off a 74-63 home loss to East Tennessee State on Dec. 18. The Tigers have five players averaging double figures in scoring, led by guard Skylar Mays (15.7 ppg) and forward Emmitt WIlliams (15.5 ppg). USC leads the all-time series 6-1, but lost the last meeting 87-76 on Dec. 4, 1976.

OKONGWU LEADS USC OVER LONG BEACH STATE -- Onyeka Okongwu scored 24 of his 28 after halftime, including 16 of USC's first 17 after the break to lead the Trojans to an 87-76 win over Long Beach State on Dec. 15. Okongwu also had 12 rebounds and 3 steals. USC led 40-34 at the break and built the lead to as much as 15 after Jonah Mathews hit a 3-pointer for a 60-45 lead 6:30 into the second half. LBSU got no closer than 9 points the rest of the way. Mathews finished with 18 points, making 5 3-pointers. Isaiah Mobley added 11 points and 9 rebounds off the bench. Ethan Anderson didn't score a point, but had a big impact with 12 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals. USC made 49.3 percent of its shots, including 42.3 percent from 3-point range (11 of 26). USC's 11 3-pointers made were a season-high to date. USC outrebounded LBSU 39-35 and outscored it 42-26 on points in the paint. USC also matched a season high to date with 12 steals. Long Beach State was led by Chance Hunter who finished with 18 points, 3 assists and 3 steals.

OKONGWU NEAR THE TOP OF THE CLASS -- Through his first 11 career games, Okongwu is averaging 18.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.09 blocks per game, while shooting 62.2 percent from the field. His 34 total blocks already rank ninth on USC's all-time freshman blocks list. Among all freshmen nationally, he ranks tied for first in total blocks (34), second in total field goals made (79), third in total points (202), blocks per game (3.09) and offensive rebounds per game (3.36), tied for third in double-doubles (5) and total rebounds (99), fourth in field goal percentage (62.2 percent), fifth in points per game (18.4), and seventh in free throws made (44) and rebounds per game (9.0).

FGCU ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against Florida Gulf Coast (2-11) at the Galen Center on Dec. 29. Andy Enfield began his head coaching career at FGCU, going 41-28 in two seasons (2012-13) and taking the Eagles to the Sweet Sixteen in 2013. FGCU will host St. Thomas on Dec. 21 before facing USC. FGCU is led in scoring by sophomore guard Zach Scott at 11.8 points per game. It is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

A ROAD LESS TRAVELED -- USC is 2-0 on the road this season, after going 2-9 on the road during the 2018-19 season. In six of the last 11 seasons, USC won 2 or less road games for an overall record of 34-90 (27.4 percent). USC finished over .500 on the road (6-5) during the 2018 and 2017 seasons, the only two seasons in the past 11 with a winning road record.

10 FOR 10 -- All 10 available scholarship players on USC's team have had at least one 10-point scoring game this season.

CAN I ASSIST YOU WITH THAT? -- Freshman point guard Ethan Anderson had a season-best 12 assists vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 15 and has 20 assists in his last two games. His 12 assist game vs. LBSU is the most assists in one game by any freshman this season. His 64 assists this season are tied for second among all freshman and tied for 24th among all players.

TROJANS FINDING THEIR MARK --- USC has made 50.3 percent of its shots in the last three games (93-for-185), with the lowest game in that stretch being 49.2 percent. In its first eight games, USC made 43.3 percent of its shots (210-for-485). USC is also heating up from three-point range making 45.3 percent (24-for-53) of its shot in the last three games, after shooting 32.2 percent (48-for-149) from beyond the arc in the first eight games.

GONE FROM GALEN -- USC is in the midst of playing 8 of 10 games (4-1) away from the Galen Center. USC played three games at the Orlando Invitational (Nov. 28, Nov. 29 and Dec. 1), then at TCU on Dec. 6 and home vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 15. Now USC plays at Staples Center vs. LSU, 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 (Jan. 11).

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Players Mentioned

Ethan Anderson

Jonah Mathews

Isaiah Mobley

Onyeka Okongwu