USC Men's Basketball To Face No. 11 Gonzaga In Las Vegas On Saturday

The USC Trojans (5-2) will face the No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-1) in the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on Dec. 2 at 7:00 p.m. The game will air on ESPN with Roxy Bernstein and Jay Williams calling the action. USC last defeated a ranked team on Jan. 26, 2023, when it defeated No. 8 UCLA.

GONE FROM GALEN -- Five of the next six games for the Trojans will be away from the Galen Center: vs. Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Dec. 2, home vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 10, then at Auburn on Dec. 17, at Alabama State on Dec. 19, at Oregon on Dec. 28 and at Oregon State on Dec. 30. If you go back to the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego, USC is in a stretch of playing 7 of 9 games away from the Galen Center.

USC'S STELLAR STRETCH -- USC won a school-record 95 games over the previous four seasons (22 in 2020, 25 in 2021, 26 in 2022 and 22 in 2023). The four consecutive seasons of 20+ wins sets a school record for most consecutive 20-win seasons, breaking the mark of three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins from 2016-18. USC's 95 total wins the last four seasons was tied for sixth-most among all Power 6 basketball programs, trailing only Kansas (111), Baylor (104), Arizona (99), UCLA (99) and Duke (97).

FACING No. 11 GONZAGA -- The No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-1) are coming off an 81-65 home win over CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 28 and have won three consecutive games since falling 73-63 to No. 1 Purdue on Nov. 20 at the Maui Invitational. Gonzaga has 5 players averaging in double figures, led by forward Anton Watson at 15.7 points per game. Gonzaga has outrebounded its opponents by 13.4 rebounds per game. USC is 2-1 all-time against the Bulldogs, falling in the last meeting in the Elite Eight of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, 85-66.

ON DECK: LONG BEACH STATE -- Long Beach State (4-4) is coming off a 75-69 win at Montana State on Nov. 26 and will host Sacramento State on Dec. 2 and Life Pacific on Dec. 6 before facing USC at the Galen Center on Dec. 10. Guard Marcus Tsohonis leads Long Beach State with an 18.0 scoring average. LBSU has a win at Michigan, 94-86, on Nov. 17. USC is 12-6 all-time against Long Beach State, winning the last four contests by 11 points or less, the last being an 88-78 win on Dec. 14, 2022.

USC FIRST TO BRING IN BOTH MEN'S & WOMEN'S TOP RECRUIT -- Isaiah Collier was the consensus No. 1 men's basketball recruit for 2023 and JuJu Watkins the No. 1 women's recruit for 2023. It marks the first time that the top recruit on the men's and women's sides both selected to attend the same school in the same season. Also, both the USC men's and women's team were ranked No. 21 in the AP preseason poll, the first time both teams were ranked in the AP preseason top 25.

MAKING HIS SHOTS COUNT -- Redshirt senior forward Joshua Morgan has made 19 of his first 24 shots this season (79.2 percent).

ENFIELD MOVING UP THE USC ALL-TIME COACHING WINS LIST -- USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 11th season at USC and has compiled an 210-131 record. He picked up his 200th win on Feb. 4, 2023 vs. Washington. Enfield's win total ranks fourth on USC's all-time wins list, trailing only Sam Barry (260), Forrest Twogood (251) and Bob Boyd (216). Including his two seasons as the head coach at FGCU (2012-13), Enfield has compiled a 251-159 record.

IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE -- USC has held 3 of its first 7 opponents to under 40 percent shooting, with an opponent high of 50.0 percent by Oklahoma on Nov. 24, just the third time in the last two seasons a team has made 50 percent or more of its shots against USC's defense. Through the first seven games this season, USC has held its opponents to 40.0 percent shooting. USC held its opponents to a 39.3 shooting percentage last season, 8th in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC's defense held the opposition to 38.9 FG percentage, third in the country, tops among teams in the six basketball power conferences. Also over the last four seasons, USC held the opposition to a 42.4 shooting percentage on two-point field goals, best in the country.

TROJAN TRIPLE THREAT -- USC guards Boogie Ellis (21.5), Isaiah Collier (17.7) and Kobe Johnson (14.2) are all averaging over 14.0 points per game. They also are combining to average 9.7 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 4.6 steals in USC's 7 games, despite Johnson missing two games and Ellis one. USC is one of two Power 6 teams with 3 guards averaging at least 14.0 points through Nov. 29 (also Wake Forest).

KOBE JOHNSON, MAN OF STEAL -- USC junior guard Kobe Johnson has 15 steals in his first five games played this season. His 3.0 steals per game average is tied for eighth in the country this season.

ELLIS SHOOTING TO THE TOP - Fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis is averaging 21.5 points, 19th in the country this season. He is tied for fourth in the country with 4.0 makes from three-point range per game, netting a career-high 8 vs. Eastern Washington on Nov. 29. The 8 three-pointers made tied him for fourth on USC's all-time list for three-pointers made in a game. He has made 24 of 50 three-point shots this season (48.0 percent). Ellis has made 163 three-point baskets as a Trojan, tied for 11th on USC's all-time three-point baskets made list, 8 behind David Bluthenthal (1999-02) who is 10th on the list and made 171 in his USC career.

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Players Mentioned

Isaiah Collier

Boogie Ellis

Kobe Johnson

Joshua Morgan