USC Men's Basketball Hosts No. 5 Purdue

Saturday, January 17

Los Angeles, Calif.

3 p.m.

USC

Purdue

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USC Men's Basketball Hosts No. 5 Purdue

January 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

This will be the 10th meeting between these two teams.

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (14-3, 3-3 Big Ten) will take on its third top 25 opponent of the new year, battling the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers (16-1, 6-0 Big Ten) at Galen Center on Saturday, Jan. 17. Saturday's game marks the 10th meeting between the two programs.

WHEREABOUTS
Game #18 vs Purdue
Saturday, Jan. 18, 2026, at 3 p.m.
Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: Peacock

LAST TIME OUT
USC Men's Basketball defeated Maryland 88-71 on Jan. 13. The initial 20 minutes of action saw brief back-and-forth runs, with the Trojans' interior as the key for first-half scoring. USC had the slight 42-41 edge going into the break, but the Terrapins went on a 11-6 run to pull ahead. Jordan Marsh and Jerry Easter II would then ignite the offense, combining for 25 points in the second half. Easter II found success on both ends, scoring and drawing fouls, while Marsh hit big shots from downtown and facilitated the ball. The Trojans pulled away, completing the double-digit 88-71 victory.

Marsh scored a team-high and season-high 20 points, going 4-9 from the three-point line. He pulled down four boards and dished out four assists, too. Easter II had eight of his 10 points in the second half, contributing four rebounds and a block.

SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS

Purdue enters Saturday's game ranked fifth in the nation and undefeated in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have three ranked wins over No.8 Alabama, No. 15 Texas Tech and No. 21 Auburn.
Purdue narrowly defeated Iowa 79-72 on Jan. 14. Four players hit double-digit scoring, and the team shot nearly 73% from the field during the second half.
Senior guard Braden Smith leads the nation in assists, clocking in 9.8 per game.
The Boilermakers shoot a Big Ten-best 39.5% from beyond the arc. They also lead the conference in assists, averaging 20.9 per game.
Purdue has the second-best assist-turnover ratio in the NCAA (2.14).
Center Daniel Jacobsen registers 2.06 blocks per game.
Trey Kaufman-Renn has seven double-doubles on the season.
Five-time Big Ten Coach of the Year Matt Painter has led the program since 2005. Before this game, he owns an overall 487-216 (0.693) at Purdue and is one of the school's winningest coaches. He has led the team to six Sweet 16 appearances in the last eight years.

UNDER PRESSURE
USC is 4-0 in one-possession games and 2-0 in overtime games. The Trojans are one of three Big Ten teams with a perfect record in one-possession and overtime games; the others are Nebraska (4-0) and Rutgers (3-0). Along with that, USC is 5-0 when it comes to games that are decided by five points or less.

OFF THE BENCH
During USC's win over Maryland, the bench was one of the biggest factors. The Trojans that came off the bench scored 46 of USC's 88 points, the most that they scored all season. The bench is averaging 38.8 points per game, ranking 53rd in the NCAA according to KenPom.