USC Men’s Basketball Back In Action Hosting Washington State Thursday
Men’s basketball | January 31, 2023
Story Links Buy Tickets Game Notes (PDF) USC Trojans (15-6, 7-3) to host Washington State Cougars (10-13, 5-7) at Galen Center on February 2 at 8 p.m. the game will air on FS1 with Guy Haberman and Dave Miller calling the action.
WINNERS – USC’s total of 73 wins over the previous three seasons is tied for third among all Power 6 basketball programs, behind only the last two NCAA champions Kansas (83) and Baylor (81). Additionally, USC’s 160 wins over the previous seven seasons ranked 13th among all teams in the Power 6 conference.
ENFIELD LEADS THE WAY — USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 10th season at USC and has a 198-124 record. His win total ranks fourth on USC’s all-time win list, behind only Sam Barry (260), Forrest Twogood (251), and Bob Boyd (216). Including his two seasons as FGCU head coach (2012-13), Enfield compiled a 239-152 record.
FACE WASHINGTON STATE — The Washington State Cougars (10-13, 5-7) are coming off a 75-58 home win over Arizona State on Jan. 28, ending to a three-game losing streak after a season-best three-game winning streak. Guard TJ Bamba leads Washington State in scoring with an average of 14.6 points per game. USC lost 81-71 at Washington State on Jan. 1, ending a 12-game winning streak against the Cougars. USC leads the all-time series 81-49.
WASHINGTON ON DECK — USC’s next game is against the Washington Huskies (13-10, 5-7) at the Galen Center on Feb. 4 at 6:30 p.m. The Huskies will play at UCLA on Feb. 2 before heading across town. to face USC. Forward Keion Brooks Jr. is Washington’s leading scorer with an average of 17.9 points per game. USC won 80-67 in Washington on Dec. 30 and has won the last six meetings with the Huskies. USC leads the all-time series 78-75* (2 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record 79-75).
PRIME TIME TROJANS — USC is 10-0 this season when tipping is 7:00 p.m. PT or later.
IT ALL STARTS ON DEFENSE — USC held California to 27.7 shooting percentage on Nov. 30, the lowest by an opponent since holding Stanford to 25.4 shooting percentage on March 3, 2021. ‘USC allowed Washington State to make a 2022-23 high opponent of 49.1 percent of its shots on January 1,
but held 6 of his last 9 opponents to less than 40% shooting. USC has held 13 of its 21 opponents this season to less than 40 percent shooting. USC is holding opponents to a 38.4 shooting percentage this season, 7th in the nation. For the past four seasons, USC’s defense has held the opposition to 38.7 FG percentage, 3rd in the nation.
THE PAC TOP STACK — USC is third in conference regular-season wins among Pac-12 teams over the past six seasons (since the 2017-18 season). USC is 67-37, Arizona is 69-36, while UCLA is 68-35 in this stretch through games Jan. 30. Next up would be Oregon at 65-38 and Colorado at 58-48.
ENJOY HOME COOKING — USC is 10-1 at the Galen Center this season, losing the season opener to FGCU on Nov. 7 and then winning the next 10 games. The 10-game home winning streak is USC’s longest home winning streak since the Trojans won the first 15 games at the Galen Center in the 2015-16 season.
USC HOSTS BLOCK PARTY – USC has 116 blocks this season, led by Joshua Morgan’s 52 blocks. USC is averaging 5.5 blocks per game, 12th in the nation. Morgan’s 52 blocks this season lead the conference and are tied for 10th in the nation. Morgan had 7 blocks against FGCU on Nov. 7, which tied him for fifth on USC’s all-time single-play blocks list. He matched that total with 7 blocks at Cal on Nov. 30. USC as a team has recorded 587 blocks over the past four seasons, which ranks 7th nationally.
PETERSON PROVIDING THE ASSISTANCE — Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is sixth among Pac-12 players with 97 assists. Peterson is one of two players in a Power 6 conference (Penn State’s Jalen Pickett) to average at least 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game this season. Peterson is averaging 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
JEKYLL & HYDE FROM THE OUTSIDE — USC made 45.5 percent of its 3-point range against UCLA on Jan. 26, its seventh game this season making at least 38 percent from 3-point range. In those seven games, USC made 45.2% of its 3-pointers (66 for 146), while it averaged 24.6% from beyond the arc in the other 14 games. (56 for 228).
CLANCY ON THE CALL — Former USC basketball great Sam Clancy will join Jordan Moore, the voice of basketball for Troy, on the radio broadcast of the game against Washington on Feb. 4.
THE STEALING MEN – Kobe Johnson (45), Boggie Ellis (35) and Drew Peterson (25) have combined for 105 steals this season, the second most by a Pac-12 trio. Johnson ranks second among Pac-12 players, Ellis is tied for fourth and Peterson ranks 11th.
ELLIS COOKING AGAIN — Senior guard Boogie Ellis has averaged 18.7 points over the past 10 games, including scoring a career-high 31 points against UCLA on Jan. 26. He started his streak by scoring a then-career-best 28 points against Auburn on Dec. 18. He scored in double figures in USC’s first 7 games, then totaled 29 points in the next four games before his current onslaught. Ellis leads USC with an average of 16.3 and leads the team with 45 three-pointers and 65 free throws. He is also second among Trojans with 35 interceptions.
TOEING THE LINE — USC made all 14 free throw attempts at Arizona State on Jan. 21, tied for the third-most charity stripe marks in a game without a miss in school history. USC followed that game up by going 17 of 18 FT (94.4%) against UCLA on Jan. 26, making it 31 of 32 the past two games (96.9%). On Jan. 19 at Arizona, USC hit 66.7% of its free throws, going on a 5-game streak making 70% or more of the charity stripe, the longest such streak since an 8-game streak during the 2016-17 season. USC has made 73.4% of its free throws this season, its best FT team percentage since the 2017 team made 74.1% of its free throws. USC has shot over 70% in a season from the free throw line twice in the previous 15 seasons.