USC Men's Basketball To Host Oregon State At Galen Saturday

The USC Trojans (8-13, 2-8) will host the Oregon State Beavers (11-10, 3-7) at the Galen Center on Feb. 3 at 4:00 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with J.B. Long and Don MacLean calling the action. USC's eight wins through its first 21 games are its fewest since also being 8-13 to start the 2012-13 season. USC has lost a season-high six consecutive games, its longest losing streak since it lost nine straight games in the 2015 season.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD -- From Dec. 17-Jan. 20, USC played 7 of its 10 games on the road and went 3-7 in that stretch. Through games of Feb. 1, USC has played seven road games and four neutral site contests. The 11 games away from home (4 neutral, 7 road) are tied for the second most among all Power 6 schools and its seven true road games are tied for the second-most, trailing only Creighton's eight.

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 OREGON STATE -- The Oregon State Beavers (11-10, 3-7) are coming off a 71-63 loss at UCLA on Feb. 1. Guard Jordan Pope leads Oregon State with a 17.6 scoring average. USC lost 86-70 at Oregon State on Dec. 30, but has won 11 of the last 16 games against the Beavers. USC has won 7 of its last 8 games against Oregon State at the Galen Center.

ON DECK: AT CALIFORNIA -- The California Golden Bears (8-13, 4-6) are coming off a 91-65 loss at Arizona on Feb. 1 and will play at Arizona State on Feb. 3, before hosting USC on Feb. 7 at 8:00 p.m. Guard Jaylon Tyson leads Cal with a 20.1 scoring average which ranks second in the Pac-12. USC defeated California 82-74 at the Galen Center on Jan. 3 and is 133-136 all-time against the Golden Bears (1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 134-136). USC has won its last 11 games against California, including its last five at Haas Pavilion.

TROJANS BUYERS, NOT SELLERS -- USC sophomore guard Oziyah Sellers' stock continues to rise. He scored a career-high 18 points scored at Colorado on Jan. 13 and has scored in double figures in four of the last five games for an 11.4 average. He is averaging 6.5 points per game, after averaging 1.1 points per game last season. Sellers has made 18 of his last 32 three-point shots (56.3 percent) and leads USC with an 83.3 shooting percentage from the FT line.

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 213-142 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 254-170 record.

IN THEIR DEFENSE-- As USC's available players continues to rotate, the defense has struggled to find its footing. However, in the last four games, USC held its opponents to a combined 39.1 percent shooting (102-for-261). USC allowed Oregon St. to make 59.6 percent of its shots on Dec. 30, the highest shooting percentage by a Trojan opponent since UW made 67.3 percent of its FGs against USC on Dec. 29, 2017. USC opponents have shot 50 percent or higher from the field six times in the last two seasons, including four times this season. This season, USC has held its opponents to 42.8 percent shooting, fifth in the conference. 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 previous four seasons, USC held the opposition to a 42.4 shooting percentage on 2-point field goals, best in the country.

SCORING IS NOT SOARING -- USC has averaged 62.5 points last six games after averaging 78.9 points per game in the first 15 games.

MISSING IN ACTION -- USC has now had players miss 44 games of action due to injury or illness. To date players missing games are Gardner (20), James (8), Collier (5), Ellis (4), Morgan (2), Iwuchukwu (2), Johnson (2), Rodman (1). USC has at least one projected starter missing in nine of its 21 games.

BLOCK AROUND THE CLOCK -- USC registered 14 blocks vs. Oregon on Feb. 1 to tie the school record for blocks in a single game. USC also had 14 blocks vs. Pepperdine on Dec. 11, 2016. Josh Morgan (4) and Arrinten Page (4) became the first Trojan teammates to record 4 or more blocks in the same game since Alex Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic each had 4 blocks vs. Northern Arizona on Dec. 11, 2010. USC has 24 blocks in the last two games and it 110 blocks this season rank second among Pac-12 teams (Washington State - 116).

LACKING A SIX-SHOOTER -- In USC's six-game losing streak, the Trojans have been outscored 93-55 from the free throw line. USC has been called for 105 fouls during the six games, while the opposition has been called for 85 fouls.

ELLIS A TOP 10 TALENT -- USC guard Boogie Ellis was named a Top 10 candidate for the 2024 Jerry West Award which recognizes the top collegiate shooting guards on Jan. 30.

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Players Mentioned

Boogie Ellis

Arrinten Page

Oziyah Sellers