USC Men's Basketball Stumbles In Tight Road Game Against Iowa

Wednesday, January 28

Iowa City, Iowa

4 p.m.

USC

15-6,4-6Big Ten

Iowa

15-5,5-4Big Ten

Southern California

Iowa

USC Men's Basketball Stumbles In Tight Road Game Against Iowa

January 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

Kam Woods led the scoring with a career-high 33 points.

IOWA CITY, Iowa –USC Men's Basketball (15-6, 4-6 Big Ten) clawed back from a 17-point deficit, but they couldn't hold on to the lead as the Trojans fell 73-72 to the Iowa Hawkeyes (15-5, 5-4 Big Ten).

Jacob Cofie's putback with 8.8 seconds to go gave USC a 72-71 lead, but Iowa's free throws at the other end iced the game. The Trojans missed a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, sending the Trojans to 4-6 in Big Ten play.

As a team, USC outshot the Hawkeyes by connecting on 52.8% of its field goals compared to the Hawkeyes' 41.8% clip. Iowa out-rebounded USC 32-29, and both teams finished with 15 turnovers. Hobbled by injuries, USC's bench was outscored 22-6.

Kam Woods had his finest game as a Trojan with a career-high 33 points on 12-for-17 shooting — including a stretch where he scored 19 straight points for USC — to go with three rebounds, three assists and a season-high four steals. Chad Baker-Mazara and Ezra Ausar were the Trojans' other double-figure scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC won the jump, and after turnovers from both sides, Ezra Ausar contributed the first bucket of the game for the early lead. With the help of a dunk from Jacob Cofie and two jumpers from Chad Baker-Mazara, the Trojans came out with a 10-0 lead heading into the first media timeout.

When the teams returned to the court, no one could score as they exchanged turnovers for two minutes. By then, Iowa got its first points from the free throw line with the score sitting at 10-1 with about 14 minutes to play.

Alijah Arenas snapped the scoring drought for the Trojans, giving them back-to-back baskets, but not without a foul in between that allowed the Hawkeyes to put two more points on the board. It took until the 12-minute mark for Iowa to make its first field goal.

The Trojans continued to stay on top, quieting the home crowd and keeping a 16-8 lead when Jerry Easter II fought for a rebound that resulted in a layup for Kam Woods. After a second basket from Woods, Iowa heated up again with three straight baskets to get within four of the Trojans.

Baker-Mazara took matters into his own hands, making back-to-back three-pointers while keeping Iowa from scoring for three minutes. After the Hawkeyes made two free throws, Woods came back in for the steal and the layup in hopes of halting the home team's momentum. However, a missed shot by Arenas and a Hawkeye three-point play took the energy away from the Trojans. Iowa went on to back-to-back baskets and take the lead for less than a minute before Ausar's layup gave USC a 28-27 advantage at halftime.

Once both teams returned to the floor, the Hawkeyes began the half with a three-pointer as they took the 30-28 lead from the Trojans. Woods made a pair of free throws, but the Hawkeyes went on a 16-2 run. Iowa led 47-32 game until Jerry Easter II made two free throws to stop the Hawkeyes' run.

With 13 minutes to go, Iowa took a 53-36 lead — its largest of the night — before Gabe Dynes and Kam Woods made back-to-back baskets.

Trailing 66-51 at the five-minute mark, Woods made a free throw to kick off a personal 12-0 run. He sank a corner three — his first of the season — to pull USC within five. Wood's second corner three and a pair of free throws cut Iowa's lead to one with under a minute to go.

Trailing 71-70 with the shot clock turned off, Jacob Cofie had a big putback to give USC a 72-71 lead with eight seconds to go. However, the Trojans committed a foul on the next possession, sending Bennett Stirtz to the line, where he sank two free throws to ice the 73-72 Iowa win.

NOTABLES

Kam Woods scored a career-high 33 points for his first double-digit performance of the season against the Hawkeyes, becoming just the second Trojan this season to contribute at least 30 points in a game. He also earned a season-high four steals and three assists.
Chad Baker-Mazara marked his fourth consecutive game and 18th of the season with double-digit points, finishing the game with 13. He also made two blocks.
Jacob Cofie led the team with seven rebounds and added four points, an assist and a block.
Ezra Ausar had 10 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes before fouling out midway through the second half.
Jerry Easter II was tied for a team-high seven rebounds against the Hawkeyes.
With Kam Woods' performance, the Trojans have now had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season.
USC held Iowa to 27 first-half points. This is not only the second-fewest first-half points USC has allowed, but also the third-fewest number of points Iowa has put up in a first half this season.
Wednesday night was USC's first one-possession loss of the season. They were previously 5-0 in games decided by three points or less.
Following tonight's loss, USC now has an overall record of 3-6 against the Hawkeyes, and Coach Eric Musselman is 1-1 all-time against Iowa.
This game's starting lineup features Kam Woods, Alijah Arenas, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar. This lineup is currently (1-2) this season.
Tonight's game was played in honor of George Raveling, who was a Hall of Fame coach who led both Iowa and USC during his legendary career.

QUOTABLES
Assistant Coach Earl Boykins on Kam Woods' performance…
"Kam, overall, is unbelievable. Of course, his 33 points were an outstanding offensive effort, but defensively, he was even better. The entire game, he did a great job of making Iowa take tough shots. He had four steals, so his overall game was great. You can't expect that kind of performance every night, but tonight, he had it going. It's just unfortunate that we didn't come out with a win."

Assistant Coach Earl Boykins on how the team needs to control turnovers…
"It was a problem for us in the first half. Not only were we turning the ball over, but they were getting steals and layups, and you can't have that. It's one thing to have a dead-ball turnover when you set your defense, but live-ball turnovers kill you. It took us 30 minutes to figure out that you have to move without the ball, and you have to take care of the ball. Once we did that, we were able to make a run, but it was just a lesson learned. When you're playing a team that's going to the basket like that, you can't go one-on-one."

Assistant Coach Earl Boykins on the team's effort against Wisconsin and Iowa…
"We're definitely a resilient basketball team. We have a bunch of mentally tough guys there in that locker room – guys that you want to go to battle with night in and night out. They have the toughness, but now it becomes IQ. That's the next step of being an NCAA tournament team, which we hope to be. In terms of effort, those guys are extremely tough in that locker room."

UP NEXT
The Trojans will return to the Galen Center for a two-game stretch, taking on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, January 31. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m., with a stream available through Peacock. Fans can also listen to all the action on ESPN LA 710.