USC Men's Basketball Drops Road Game at No. 12 Michigan State 80-51

Monday, January 5

East Lansing, Mich.

5:30 p.m.

USC

12-3,1-3Big Ten

Michigan State

13-2,3-1Big Ten

Southern California

Michigan St.

USC Men's Basketball Drops Road Game at No. 12 Michigan State 80-51

January 05, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Game Notes (PDF)

Ezra Ausar scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — The USC Men's Basketball team's (12-3, 1-3 Big Ten) offense struggled against the No. 12 Michigan State Spartans (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten), who handed the Trojans an 80-51 loss in the Breslin Center Monday night.

The No. 12 Spartans took advantage of a slow start from the Trojans and held a double-digit lead for over 31 minutes. USC shot 32.7% from the floor while Michigan State connected on 50% of its field goals. Michigan State scored 16 points off 17 USC turnovers and also won the rebounding battle 39-30.

Ezra Ausar led the Trojans with 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks — all of which were team highs. Jerry Easter II's 12 points gave him his third game in double figures, while Jacob Cofie added seven points.

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC bolted out to a 5-0 lead, but the offense went cold. While the Trojans went six minutes without a made field goal, the Spartans went on a 10-0 run until Jerry Easter II snapped the scoreless drought by making a left-handed layup through traffic. Easter's free throws one possession later helped the Trojans pull within five. However, the Spartans ripped off a 14-2 run that put USC behind 27-11 with 5:54 to go in the half.

Yet Michigan State would lead by as many as 19 points in the half while the Trojans struggled to score. USC only connected on 21.4% of its field goals and scored a season-low 17 first-half points — a dozen of which came from Ezra Ausar and Easter, who had six points apiece.

Trailing 33-17 heading into the second half, the Trojans had more success scoring at the rim in the early goings. But the Spartans countered with transition buckets and getting to the free-throw line, which quickly reversed USC's fortunes. Michigan State's lead ballooned to as many as 21 points while the Trojans had difficulty piecing together multiple scoring possessions.

Staring down a 24-point deficit with 14:21 to go, Ausar came alive. Kam Woods seamed a bounce pass through traffic to a rolling Ausar, who threw down a thunderous dunk through contact. He then added another layup and another and-one opportunity to make the score 62-40 with nine minutes to play. All told, the senior scored 10 second-half points to help the Trojans. However, USC couldn't get within 20 points of the Spartans, who closed the game on a 9-0 run to win 80-51.

NOTABLES

Ezra Ausar lit up in the second half, as he is known to do. With his 10 second-half points, he finished the game with 16. Along with that, he filled up the stat sheet with a team-high seven rebounds, along with two assists, a block and a steal.
Jerry Easter II was the first Trojan to earn double-digit points in tonight's game, contributing 12 on the night. This is his third game in double figures this season.
USC is now 4-5 all-time vs Michigan State and Coach Musselman is now 1-1 against the Wolverines.
Today's starting lineup featured Ryan Cornish, Jerry Easter II, Terrance Williams II, Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie. This lineup is now 0-1 on the season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on the team's defense…
"I thought we played four out of their five starters great. When we executed the defensive game plan, I didn't think it was bad. Their transition offense is really good. I thought we gave up maybe three or four baskets that we shouldn't have."

Coach Eric Musselman on finishing the road trip…
"We have another game, and we'll see how we respond. It's unprecedented for this league to have a three-game road trip. We're the first ones that I know that's done it and stayed on the road the whole time. We'll give them off tomorrow and then see if we can regroup."

UP NEXT
The Trojans wrap up their three-game road trip against Minnesota on Friday, Jan. 9. Tip-off will be at 5:30 p.m. PT at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Fans can follow along by watching on the Big Ten Network or listening through the USC Trojans Game Day app.