Rodney Rice Records A Triple-Double In 87-67 Win Over Illinois State

Friday, November 14

Los Angeles, Calif.

4:30 p.m.

USC

3-0,0-0Big Ten

Illinois State

1-2,0-0MVC

Illinois St.

Southern California

Rodney Rice Records A Triple-Double In 87-67 Win Over Illinois State

November 14, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Press Conference Team Highlights Rodney Rice Highlights

This is just the second triple-double in USC history.

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (3-0) took down the Illinois State Redbirds (1-2) by a score of 87-67 at the Experian Hall of Fame Series held at the Intuit Dome. This is the third-straight game USC has defeated its opponent by 20 or more points.

Rodney Rice was the highlight of the night as he is the second Trojan to earn a triple-double in school history, finishing with 21 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, and a career-high 10 assists. USC also had three other Trojans earn double-digit points, and they were Chad Baker-Mazara (18), Gabe Dynes (14) and Ezra Ausar (13).

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC struck quickly with back-to-back baskets from Rodney Rice and Jacob Cofie, giving the Trojans the quick four-point lead. Illinois State responded quickly with a layup and a 3-pointer, taking its only lead of the first half. This only lasted for a minute before Chad Baker-Mazara responded with a three of his own. It was USC's game from there. The Trojans went on a nine-point run while preventing the Redbirds from scoring for over five minutes. Some made free throws from Amarion Dickerson and a dunk from Gabe Dynes allowed USC to build on its lead, doubling the Redbirds' score and then some. Illinois State hit a second scoring drought that lasted longer than the first as the Trojans' defense smothered the Redbirds' offense. USC kept the pressure through the remainder of the first half, as the Trojans were up 40-26.

The Trojans opened the second half scoring with a dunk from Ezra Ausar, but that didn't dampen the Redbirds. Illinois State picked up the defensive pressure, keeping USC from scoring for three minutes. That was until Ausar came back in with another monster dunk to keep Illinois State at bay. But fouls got the best of USC, resulting in Illinois State making numerous free throws to get within six. That's when Baker-Mazara sinks a three followed by a dunk from Dynes to switch the momentum back to the Trojans. USC never let up for the remainder of the game. With a final dunk from Ausar, USC grabbed its third straight win with a score of 87-67.

NOTABLES

Junior guard Rodney Rice is the second Trojan in history to record a triple-double, recording 21 points, pulling down a career-high 10 boards, and posting a career-high 10 assists. The only other USC player to register a triple-double is Daniel Hackett, who contributed 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against South Carolina on Nov. 17, 2007.
This is the first time since 1928-29 that USC opened its season 3-0 and won all three games by 20 or more points.
This is the third-straight game with at least four Trojans scoring in double figures. Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara and Rodney Rice all reached double figures in all three of these games.
Chad Baker-Mazara delivered another dominant performance, finishing the night with 18 points. With that, Baker-Mazara surpasses 1,200 career points.
Gabe Dynes was an all-around powerhouse for the Trojans, ending the night with 14 points, three blocks and a career-high three assists. Dynes recorded at least two blocks in each game this season.
Showing his presence in the paint, Jacob Cofie contributed at least one block in every game this season. He finished the night with three blocks and six rebounds.
The Redbirds broke their school record in 3-pointers last season, but tonight, the Trojans held them to just 21% percent from beyond the arc.
USC stuck with the same starting lineup tonight in Rodney Rice, Ezra Ausar, Chad Baker-Mazara, Terrance Williams II and Jacob Cofie. This lineup is now 3-0 on the season.
This marked the third meeting in program history between the Trojans and the Redbirds. USC is now 2-1 against Illinois State, and Coach Musselman is 2-0 all-time.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on keeping the team's tempo…
"We probably need to get in better conditioning, but to play at the rate that we were playing at defensively is hard to do. I thought the end of the first half, and maybe the start of the second half, we had about a six-and-a-half-minute time span where we didn't play at maximum defensive ability. We're scoring the ball pretty good. We're defending at a pretty good rate. We just got to play 40 minutes. It was maybe more 34 minutes where I thought we were really good, and six minutes where we had a let-up."

Coach Eric Musselman on the players hitting career milestones…
"I think we're unique. Our players knew it. Our staff knew it. Last game, it was Chad with a career high. I hope that, having a professional background, you understand that that's important to a player when he can hit something like that that hadn't been done at USC for a long time."

Coach Eric Musselman on the team's defense…
"We need to defensive rebound better and react to scramble situations better. Amarion really helps us in that aspect, but across the board, we need to react better. The amount of offensive rebounds that we've given up is a high rate, but it's because there are a lot of misses right now. We're playing teams that can really shoot, so your defense is stretched out. Troy on Thursday can really shoot the ball, so we're going to have to contest the three and go get long rebounds and loose balls. We wanted toughness. We wanted guys who could slide their feet and have great mobility. We needed a shot blocker, obviously, got Gabe for the shot blocking. Then we've mentioned Ezra, Jacob and Amarion. Those three guys in particular are great at moving their feet, keeping the ball in front of them, and can switch 1 through 5. We're happy, but that's kind of what we thought we could be really good defensively."

Rodney Rice on his triple-double…
"I definitely knew. I never even had a double-double before. But I was going for it for sure. I was going to get it. My determination set in."

Rodney Rice on his role as a point guard here at USC…
"That's a big reason why I'm here. It's a great opportunity for me. To be honest, that's always been in my game. I just had a role to play last year, and it was a big role. But I have a great opportunity here where I can handle the ball more, make decisions, and just be more of a point guard. I get to be more vocal, find and open guys, and just try to be as smart as I can on the court."

Gabe Dynes on his performance tonight…
"I think for me, I'm very matchup dependent. It really depends on the matchup for playing time. But I think it was just how the night went. I don't know how many points I had, but I don't think I took one dribble. It's really based off how my teammates can give me the ball. I'm always active defensively, so just doing what I should."

UP NEXT
USC will return to the Galen Center in a Battle of the Trojans as they take on Troy University on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game on the Big Ten Network or listen on ESPN LA 710.