Men's Basketball | January 09, 2018

The USC Trojans (11-6, 2-2) are hosting the Colorado Buffaloes (10-6, 2-2) at the Galen Center on Jan. 10 at 7:00 p.m.  

BREAKING DOWN THE BUFFALOES  --  Colorado (10-6, 2-2) is coming off a home sweep of then No. 4 Arizona State (90-81 in OT) on Jan. 4 and then No. 14 Arizona (80-77) on Jan. 6.  Freshman McKinley Wright leads Colorado with a 16.2 scoring average.  USC defeated Colorado 71-68 in Boulder, Colo. last season in the only meeting between the two teams.  USC trails in the all-time series against Colorado, 5-9.  USC has won its last two games against Colorado, after losing the first seven since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12.

HALF-COURT HEAVE SENDS USC TO LOSS AT STANFORD -- USC scored only eight points over the final 10:40 of the game and when Daejon Davis' 55-foot heave swished through at the buzzer, the Trojans had fallen 77-76 at Stanford on Jan. 7.  USC had seemingly won the game when Jordan McLaughlin drove down the left side of the lane and made a tough layup in traffic with 1.7 seconds left.  Stanford inbounded the ball to Davis who took one dribble and let go the game-winning heave. USC led 68-53, but was held scoreless over the next four minutes as Stanford scored 12 unanswered points to cut it to 68-65 with just over six minutes remaining.  Stanford took its first lead since midway through the first half at 74-72 with 1:43 remaining.  USC tied it on a short jumper in the lane by Metu, then after two defensive stops, took the lead on McLaughlin's layup.  Metu finished with 20 points and Bennie Boatwright had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, with all of his points coming in the first half.

UTAH ON DECK - USC's next game be vs. Utah (10-5, 2-2) at the Galen Center on Jan. 14 at 5 p.m.  After winning its first two Pac-12 games on the road, the Utes returned home and were swept by the Arizona schools last week.  Utah will play at UCLA on Jan. 11 before facing USC. Utah has five players averging in double figures in points, led by senior David Collette at 13.8 points per game.  Utah defeated USC 86-64 at home in the only meeting between the schools last season. Utah leads the all-time series 22-17, including winning the last eight meetings.  USC last defeated the Utes  on Jan. 12, 2013 (76-59) in Utah.  The Utes have won by an average of 15.3 points during the eight-game winning streak against USC.

DEFENSIVE CHARGE -- Since allowing Washington to shoot 67.3 percent in a loss on Dec. 29, the highest shooting percentage by a Trojan opponent since 2003, USC has combined to hold its last three opponents to a 43.0 shooting percentage (77-for-179).  In the three games, USC has registered 28 steals and forced 50 turnovers.  USC is 6-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40 percent shooting and 5-6 when they shoot better than 40 percent.

MR. BUCKETS FILLING IT UP -- Bennie "Buckets" Boatwright has scored 20.2 points per game (121 total) over the last six contests. He has also made 19 three-pointers in that stretch.

OFFENSE STARTING TO CLICK -- USC has scored 80 or more points in nine of its last 11 games for an average of 84.7 points per game (932 total).  USC is making 50.4 percent (340-for-675) of its shots in that stretch.

SECOND TIME AROUND -- Despite being held to 43.3 percent in the second half at Stanford, in the last 11 games USC is making 55.0 percent of its shots in the second half (182-for-331).  For the year, USC is shooting 50.7 percent (258-for-509) after the break (not including overtime).

NICK THE QUICK -- USC forward Nick Rakocevic scored 36 points and had 14 rebounds on the trip to the Bay Area last week.  He also made 69.6 percent of his shots (16-for-23) in the two games.  He is quick on the boards, grabbing 10 offensive boards on the trip and ranks sixth in the Pac-12 with an average of 2.3 offensive rebounds per game.

FIREPOWER ABOUNDS -- USC has four players in Bennie Boatwright, Jordan McLaughlin, Chimezie Metu and Elijah Stewart that can boast at least one 30-point game in their career.  Additionally, eight players have scored at least 19 points in a game as a Trojan.  This season, nine different players have at least one game of scoring in double figures.