USC Men's Basketball Begins Road Trip At California On Wednesday

The USC Trojans (9-13, 3-8) will play at the California Golden Bears (9-13, 5-6) at Haas Pavilion on Feb. 7 at 8:00 p.m. The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with Ted Robinson and Bill Walton calling the action. USC won its last game to snap a six-game losing streak, its longest since losing nine straight games in the 2015 season. USC's nine wins through its first 22 games are its fewest since also being 9-13 to start the 2014-15 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. Through games of Feb. 4, 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 fifth most among all Power 6 schools and its seven true road games are tied for the fifth-most.

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 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.

ON DECK: AT STANFORD -- The Stanford Cardinal (11-10, 6-5) are coming off an 82-71 loss at Arizona on Feb. 3 and will host UCLA on Feb. 7 before taking on the Trojans on Feb. 10 at Maples Pavilion at 7 p.m. Forward Maxime Raynaud leads leads five Stanford players averaging in double figures with a 14.8 average. USC defeated Stanford 93-79 at the Galen Center on Jan. 6 and owns a 130-129 all-time record against the Cardinal (1 win vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 131-129).

WHEN YOU SHARE THE BALL, THE TEAMS WILL FALL -- USC had 22 assists in its win over Oregon State on Feb. 3 and improved to 22-2 in games it has 20 or more assists since the start of the 2019-20 season. Both of the losses were this season to Oregon on Dec. 28 and Feb. 1.

NEAR THE TOP OF THE PAC -- The Trojans have a 57-32 record in Pac-12 games the last five seasons and are also the only school to finish in the top three of the conference in each of the last four seasons. USC's win total in Pac-12 games in that stretch is tied for third, behind UCLA's 64 and Arizona's 61.

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 five of the last five six for an 11.5 average. He is averaging 6.8 points per game, after averaging 1.1 points per game last season. Sellers has made 20 of his last 37 three-point shots (54.1 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 214-142 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 255-170 record.

IN THEIR DEFENSE-- As USC's available players continues to rotate, the defense has struggled to find its footing. However, in the last five games, USC has held its opponents to a combined 38.3 percent shooting (120-for-313). 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 42.5 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.

THE OFFENSE COMES ALIVE -- USC scored 82 points and shot 49.2 percent from the field in its 82-54 win vs. Oregon State on Feb. 3. In the previous six games, USC averaged 62.5 points per game. The last time USC had scored over 69 points in a game was when it scored 93 points vs. Stanford on Jan. 6. USC scored 70 or more points in 14 of its first 15 games and averaged 78.9 points per game.

MISSING IN ACTION -- USC has now had players miss 46 games of action due to injury or illness. To date players missing games are Gardner (21), James (8), Collier (6), Ellis (4), Morgan (2), Iwuchukwu (2), Johnson (2), Rodman (1). USC has at least one projected starter missing in 10 of its 22 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 29 blocks in the last three games and it has 115 blocks this season which rank second among Pac-12 teams (Washington State - 119).

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