USC Men's Basketball Is Overpowered By Huskies

Wednesday, March 4

Seattle, Wash.

7:30 p.m.

USC

18-12,7-12Big Ten

Washington

15-15,7-12Big Ten

Southern California

Washington

USC Men's Basketball Is Overpowered By Huskies

March 04, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

The Trojans succumbed to a second-half Washington run in the loss.

SEATTLE — USC Men's Basketball's (18-12, 7-12 Big Ten) second-half woes continued in the Trojans' 91-72 road loss to the Washington Huskies (15-15, 7-12 Big Ten) on Wednesday, March 4.

Despite leading by three points after the first, the Huskies flipped the script by outscoring the Trojans 51-29 in the second half. Washington had an edge in nearly every statistical category: Thanks to 24 rebounds from Hannes Steinbach, the Huskies outrebounded the Trojans 46-37. USC committed 12 turnovers to Washington's 11, and the Huskies connected on 48.1% of their field goals to the Trojans' 37.5% clip.

Alijah Arenas led USC with 19 points and was one of four Trojans in double figures. Ezra Ausar had a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, Jacob Cofie finished with 14 points, and Jordan Marsh chipped in 14 points off the bench.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In a half defined by fast-paced play and high-pressure defense, USC's offense was humming early. Jacob Cofie scored five points in the first three minutes while the Trojans' backcourt forced four of Washington's nine first-half turnovers, all before the first media timeout.

USC's balanced scoring helped the team maintain its lead. Four different Trojans were responsible for the team's first five field goals before USC's bench took over. Trailing 17-14 with 12:22 to go, Jordan Marsh sank a three to tie the game and spark a 9-2 USC run. He then made back-to-back threes to give USC a 32-23 lead — its largest of the half.

With less than seven minutes to go in the first half, Washington went on a 7-0 run to keep pace with USC. A Washington tip-in on the Huskies' final possession made it a 43-40 game heading into halftime.

USC stayed on pace with Washington to start the second half, but it didn't last for long. Up 54-52 with 13:11 to go, the Trojans faced a critical juncture when Cofie picked up his fourth personal foul. After making both ensuing free throws, Washington went on a 10-0 run while the Trojans went over four minutes without a made field goal. Ausar snapped the scoreless drought with back-to-back layups, yet USC still trailed 62-58 with just over eight minutes to play.

Yet USC wouldn't get closer. The Trojan offense had another extensive drought while Hannes Steinbach helped propel another Huskies' run with scoring and rebounding. USC would make just one field goal in the final five minutes. Despite mixing in a 2-3 zone and a full-court press to slow down Washington, the Huskies' 13-0 run down the stretch resulted in USC's fifth-straight loss with a score of 91-72.

NOTABLES

Alijah Arenas led USC with 19 points while grabbing a season-high seven rebounds. He went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line to continue his streak of 26 made free throws.
Ezra Ausar ended the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds to earn his fourth double-double of the season. Ausar also scored his 1,500th career point against the Huskies, ending the night with 1,505 career points.
Jordan Marsh tied his season-high with three made threes in the first half. He finished with 14 points to lead all bench scorers.
Making a return to his hometown, Jacob Cofie scored 14 points against the Huskies. He also helped on defense with seven rebounds and two blocks. This is the 15th time this season he notched at least two blocks in a game.
Wednesday night was the second-consecutive game and the 12th time this season USC had at least four players record double figures.
USC is now 83-77 overall against Washington, and Coach Eric Musselman has an overall record of 3-2 against the Huskies. This is the first time USC dropped a game at Alaska Airlines Arena since Jan. 5, 2020.
Tonight's starting lineup featured Kam Woods, Jerry Easter II, Alijah Arenas, Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar. This is the first time the Trojans have started with this lineup this season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on switching to a zone defense…
"I thought the zone was good from a 3-point percentage to deal with Washington. They went 7-for-30. I thought the zone forced them to take more threes than they usually do."

Coach Eric Musselman on moving on to Saturday's game against UCLA…
"We have to put 40 minutes together. We can't play 20 minutes or 24 minutes, and certainly the second half was not anything we needed from a scoring standpoint or defensively."

UP NEXT
USC will wrap up the regular season on Saturday, March 7, at the Galen Center against the UCLA Bruins. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. on FS1, or fans can listen on ESPN LA 710. The Trojans will also honor their four seniors prior to the game: Ezra Ausar, Terrance Williams II, Kam Woods and Jaden Brownell.