USC Men’s Basketball Wins Third-Straight with 81-75 Victory over Indiana

Tuesday, February 3

Los Angeles, Calif.

7 p.m.

USC

17-6,6-6Big Ten

Indiana

15-8,6-6Big Ten

Indiana

Southern California

USC Men’s Basketball Wins Third-Straight with 81-75 Victory over Indiana

February 04, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights Press Conference

Alijah Arenas scored a career-high 29 points, 19 of which came in the second half, to lead the Trojans.

LOS ANGELES — USC Men's Basketball won its third-straight Big Ten game (17-6, 6-6 Big Ten) with an 81-75 home win over the Indiana Hoosiers (15-8, 6-6 Big Ten) in the Galen Center on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

In a game where USC's offense was humming throughout, the Trojans outshot the Hoosiers by connecting on 46.3% of their field goals compared to their opposition's 41.3% clip. USC's defense also held Indiana to shooting just 28.6% from three, which was well below their 35.7% clip. Additionally, the Trojans outrebounded the Hoosiers by a 40-25 margin.

USC's backcourt of Alijah Arenas (29 points) and Kam Woods (18) combined to score 47 points, 30 of which came in the second half. Ezra Ausar also scored 12 points to round out the Trojans' double-figure scorers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Playing an up-tempo first half, both offenses looked sharp from the get-go. USC started the game 7-for-7 from the field and didn't miss its first shot until the 14:11 mark. Chad Baker-Mazara scored seven quick points in the first four minutes that helped put the Trojans up 11-8 by the first media timeout.

With USC up 16-10, Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson caught fire. For a while, he was a one-man wrecking machine; USC had difficulty containing the Hoosiers' leading scorer, who sparked a 7-0 Indiana run with five points of his own. Unfortunately for the Trojans, this run coincided with a five-minute scoring drought, which allowed Indiana to go up 22-17.

However, Alijah Arenas came through by making a pair of baskets that got the crowd back in the game. He made a difficult fadeaway jumper, then his next basket wowed the crowd. Arenas used a jab step on the right wing to clear out space, then he crossed up his defender, took a step back, and accelerated to the basket before euro-stepping around a defender for an acrobatic layup. Kam Woods followed suit on the next possession to give USC a 22-17 lead.

Then the game slowed down. Both teams combined to make just five field goals in the final eight minutes. Gabe Dynes was an integral part of USC's defensive resurgence with six rebounds — including three offensive boards — and three blocks down the stretch. His third block of the half led to Indiana's second shot clock violation, which led to two free throws for Arenas on the other end. With those defensive stops and drawing fouls, USC closed the half on a 5-0 run — all from the free-throw line — to take a 35-30 lead into halftime.

Although Indiana started the second half strong, the Trojans countered a 10-2 run early in the second half. After USC made five more free throws, Ezra Ausar had a three-point play that fired up the crowd, then Cofie found Woods for a corner three that gave the Trojans a 49-39 lead with less than 14 minutes to go. USC didn't relent. Arenas made a midrange jumper through contact, then another Woods three-pointer, which made Indiana call a timeout down 55-41.

Spurred by a USC technical foul, Indiana clawed back in the game with an 8-2 run. Wilkerson continued to carry the Hoosiers, who made it a 59-55 game with seven minutes to go.

But then the Trojans landed an early knockout punch with an 8-0 run. Arenas sank a straightaway three, then on the next possession, his skip pass got deflected, but he recovered the ball and nailed another three to give USC a double-digit lead yet again. Jerry Easter II's transition layup pushed the lead back to 12, 67-55.

Indiana made a frenzied comeback attempt in the final four minutes. With USC up 70-59, the Hoosiers scored six-straight points before the Trojans could respond with four more from Arenas and Woods, making the score 74-65. Indiana's full-court press kept its hopes alive, and the Hoosiers made it a three-point game with 24 seconds left. Six USC free throws iced the game and gave them an 81-75 win.

NOTABLES

Tonight, Alijah Arenas' 29 points led the team in scoring and set a career-high for the freshman guard. He also pulled down a career-high six rebounds and recorded one block. His 19-second-half points are the third-most a Trojan has scored in a half this season. With his performance, Arenas tied his father Gilbert's freshman-year high of 29 points.
The Trojans made their first seven straight field goals of the game, marking the team's best offensive start through the first five minutes of a game this season.
USC limited seven of its 12 Big Ten opponents to shooting below 30% from beyond the arc.
This is the eighth conference game with three or more Trojans in double-digit figures. (last vs. Rutgers on Jan. 31)
With 12 points recorded tonight, this is Ezra Ausar's 13th straight game scoring in double figures — and his 20th game on the season.
Both Jacob Cofie and Ausar tied their season-high mark in assists as Cofie registered 5 and Ausar contributed four.
At 12:50 in the first half, Kam Woods recorded his first block as a Trojan and his seventh career block. He logged 18 points and six rebounds.
Through 17 minutes of action, Gabe Dynes locked down the rim on both ends of the court, grabbing three offensive boards and four off the defensive glass — one rebound shy of his season-high. He also added three blocks.
USC improves to 12-2 when outrebounding its opponent.
The Trojans are now 3-3 against Indiana, while Coach Musselman is now 2-1 against the Hoosiers.
This game's starting lineup features Kam Woods, Alijah Arenas, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar. This lineup is currently 3-2 this season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on Arenas' career performance…
"He can get his own shot whenever he wants. He's a great find-your-own-shot creator. I hope he can continue to build off of this. Twenty-nine points in your fifth game of college when you haven't played any non-conference games is pretty damn impressive."

Coach Eric Musselman on the strength of this lineup…
"We have great athleticism and activity with Ezra and Jacob. Kam's a true point guard, and then Alijah and Chad – those guys get their own shots. It's a really good mix."

Coach Eric Musselman on the implications of this win…
"This game is not worth one game. There are bubble implications, Big Ten standing implications, and tie-break implications. A big win."

Alijah Arenas on being inspired by his teammates…
"They showed us why winning matters. Coming in as a freshman, I've never been to the Sweet Sixteen or Elite Eight. These guys are dreaming of going there. We've had a couple of guys come through there. I don't know the feeling, and seeing their emotions after a win, after a loss — I've taken on those emotions, too. I want to win."

Kam Woods on his connection with Musselman…
"We both want to win. When we lose, it hurts. With me being a leader, with us winning, it gives us confidence. His trusting me now, I'm just trying not to get too complacent."

UP NEXT
The Trojans head east to play Penn State on Sunday, Feb. 8, in the Bryce Jordan Center. Tip-off will be at 9:00 a.m. PT with a stream available through the Big Ten Network. Fans can also listen to all the action on ESPN LA 710.