USC Men’s Basketball Hangs On For 78-75 Win Over Rutgers

Saturday, January 31

Los Angeles, Calif.

4 p.m.

USC

16-6,5-6Big Ten

Rutgers

9-13,2-9Big Ten

Rutgers

Southern California

USC Men’s Basketball Hangs On For 78-75 Win Over Rutgers

January 31, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Press Conference

Ezra Ausar posted his 13th game in double figures this season.

LOS ANGELES – Led by Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie's interior scoring, the USC Men's Basketball (16-6, 5-6 Big Ten) earned its fifth conference win with a 78-75 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-13, 2-9 Big Ten) on Saturday afternoon.

The Trojans received a team-high 21 points from Ezra Ausar, who owned the block and converted 82% of his free throws. Cofie was perfect from the field in the first half, going 5-for-5 and contributing 12 points in 17 minutes of action. His 15 overall points and 10 rebounds marked his fifth double-double on the season. The game saw a solid second-half shooting performance from Chad Baker-Mazara, who added 17 points, three assists and two steals.

USC outshot Rutgers 51% to 39%, and the Trojans had a 40-33 edge on the glass. USC led for 36 minutes, and the game was decided by one possession, which gives USC a 6-1 record in those games.

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC pulled away early with a 7-0 run to go up 11-4. Kam Woods found Ezra Ausar on a high-low pass, and Jacob Cofie converted a three-point play. Then USC stifled Rutgers' offense and forced the Scarlet Knights to take bad shots. From there, the defense turned into offense with a fast-break dunk from Ausar to cap off the run with 14 minutes on the clock.

Rutgers scored on the next play but went cold for the next three minutes as USC turned up the tempo. Three different Trojans contributed to the 7-0 burst, and a jumper from Woods off the glass gave the Cardinal and Gold its first double-digit lead, 17-6, with just under 12 minutes to go.

The shots started falling for Rutgers, but the Trojans answered with interior scoring of their own. On back-to-back possessions, Chad Baker-Mazara sliced his way to the baseline, earning a 26-16 lead.

With under eight minutes left to play, USC capitalized on its defense to race past Rutgers. Cofie nabbed the inbound ball at half court and broke away for a wide-open dunk, while Ausar kept scoring on the block. The Trojan duo combined for 11 of the Trojans' 14 points to round out the half. That's when Rutgers carved paths to the paint, making it a 38-30 game. With less than a minute to go, Cofie — who went a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the first half — nailed a fade away jumper in the key to give the Trojans a 40-30 lead at halftime.

USC opened the second half with lockdown defensive performances, which led to an Alijah Arenas triple. The Trojans got hot from beyond the arc, connecting on their next two three-pointers. From there, Ausar pressured the Scarlet Knights near the logo, dove on the ground to secure the loose ball and fed it to Baker-Mazara for an easy bucket. USC's 8-0 run made it a 51-32 ballgame.

The Trojans continued rolling offensively, with Cofie muscling his way down low, and Baker-Mazara making his second triple of the game with 14:37 left. However, Rutgers found its footing with second-chance opportunities and turned up its defensive pressure. The Scarlet Knights went on a 14-6 run in the middle of the half, making it 63-54 with less than eight minutes to go.

Three separate trips to the free-throw line put the Trojans back on their feet. Ausar alone scored nine of USC's 11 points through a two-minute stretch. His three-point play extended the Trojans' lead, 74-57.

The Scarlet Knights pressed full court to force four Trojan turnovers in the final four minutes, while also making critical shots to put them back in the game. Rutgers' run was capped with a jumper from Tariq Francis to make it 78-75 — the closest margin of the half.

With five seconds on the clock, Baker-Mazara came up with a massive defensive stop at mid-court that sealed the 78-75 victory at the Galen Center.

NOTABLES

Ezra Ausar led the team with 21 points on 6-for-8 shooting while going 9-for-11 from the free-throw line. He also had seven rebounds and two assists. He had his 13th double-digit scoring night and sixth game with at least 20 points this season.
Jacob Cofie had a strong start in the first half by finishing 5-5 from the field with 12 points and two blocks. He finished the game with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks for his fifth double-double. It was also his eighth game with at least 10 rebounds this season and his ninth game tying his career-high in blocks. He is one of 20 players in the NCAA to have at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in three different games.
Chad Baker-Mazara marked his fifth consecutive double-digit performance, rounding today's game with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Kam Woods got a season-high nine rebounds and eight points while chipping in four assists and a steal.
Alijah Arenas chipped in nine points and went 2-for-4 from three.
The win was USC's 10th game decided by six points or less, which leads the Big Ten. USC has a league-leading 6-1 record in one-possession games.
USC now has an overall record of 4-1 against the Scarlet Knights, and Coach Eric Musselman is 2-1 all-time against Rutgers.
This game's starting lineup features Kam Woods, Alijah Arenas, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar. This lineup is currently (2-2) this season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on Ezra Ausar's performance…
"It was the best game of the year for Ezra to rim-run and seal. It was by far his best post-sealing that we've seen, and if he does that, he's really hard to stop in the paint."

Coach Eric Musselman on the team's one-possession win…
"We're 6-1 in games decided by one possession, which is the best in the country. I'd rather be 5-1, but now we have a bunch of stuff that we can clean up and get better at, which we will. I'm proud of their effort. Winning means something to this team."

Coach Eric Musselman on Chad Baker-Mazara's final steal…
"It could have gone into overtime if we didn't get a defensive stop. Chad knew enough to be super aggressive. In case he fouled, it would have been two shots. It was a high-IQ play."

Chad Baker-Mazara on the team's struggle today against Rutgers' press…
"Rutgers just came in pressing, a little physical. We just let them overpower us for a little bit, but thankfully, we got it back together and we were able to execute at the end."

Chad Baker-Mazara on his mindset in the final play of the game…
"I was just basically baiting him — I know he likes to do the left-to-right cross. So I was basically baiting him to do the cross because Coach emphasized that all week, since we've been practicing it. I know for the last play, you're gonna go to your hand that you trust the most. He took the bait, and, thankfully, we were able to do the play."

Ezra Ausar on his mindset behind drawing eight fouls in today's game…
"I was just having the mindset of being the most visual person out there, as always. I know that's something I've been slacking at, so today was just a day to pick it up."

Ezra Ausar on how the team learns from close games…
"I think it always gives us our peak of where we are and where we stand, and prepares us for the next challenge, whether we win or lose. Those situations, again, just prepare us for what do we do and how do we respond next time, and not react. We don't like losing."

UP NEXT
The Trojans will stay in Los Angeles as they prepare to take on the Indiana Hoosiers on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Tip-off will be at 7:00 p.m. PT with a stream available through Peacock. Fans can also listen to all the action on ESPN LA 710.