USC Begins 2-Game Road Trip At Nebraska Saturday
November 26, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2010
The USC Trojans (4-2) will play the Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-2) in Lincoln, Neb. at the Devaney Sports Center on Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. (CT). The game will air on Fox Sports Net. This is USC's first true road game of the season. USC is 1-1 in games played away from home, having split games at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. USC has scored 80 points or more in consecutive games for the first time since the 2008 season.
BREAKING DOWN THE HUSKERS -- The Cornhuskers are 3-2 this season with a 2-0 record at home. Last season Nebraska went 10-0 at home in nonconference games. Sophomore Christian Standhardinger has come off the bench to lead Nebraska in scoring with an average of 11.0 points per game. Doc Sadler is in his fifth season as head coach of Nebraska and has posted a 73-60 record. USC leads the all-time series 5-2, but lost at home to Nebraska last season, 51-48. The game is part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
TROJANS SHAKE CSUF IN 2ND HALF -- USC led by just two points at halftime but scored 49 second-half points and rolled to an 81-54 win vs. CS Fullerton at the Galen Center on Nov. 24. Maurice Jones scored 17 of his game-high 20 points after the break and forwards Alex Stepheson (11 points/12 rebounds) and Nikola Vucevic (16 points/14 rebounds) posted double-doubles. USC out-shot CSUF from the field 52.7 percent to 35.1 percent.
TROJANS TAKE TO THE ROAD -- USC left on Thanksgiving Day to begin a trip to Nebraska on Nov. 27 and to TCU in Fort Worth, Texas on Nov. 29. USC will play four of its next six games on the road. The Trojans were 2-9 in road games last season.
TCU ON DECK -- USC will play TCU in Fort Worth, Texas on Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. (CT). TCU is 3-2 with a game at home vs. Houston on Nov. 27 before hosting the Trojans. The Horned Frogs are 2-0 at home. Junior guard Ronnie Moss leads TCU in scoring with an average of 15.4 points per game. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
NO REST IN SIGHT -- USC is in the midst of playing 8 games in 17 days to start the season, the most in a 17-day stretch or less since playing 8 games in 15 days to start the 1983-84 season.
SUDDEN IMPACT -- In the first six games USC has relied heavily on freshmen with guards Maurice Jones playing 236 and Bryce Jones playing 188 out of a possible 240 minutes. In six games, the two Jones and fellow freshman Garrett Jackson have combined to score 45.2 percent of USC's points (194 of 429) and play 41.7 percent of the team's minutes. The Joneses also have 56.5 percent of USC's assists (39 of 69) and 54.3 percent of its 3-point baskets (19 of 35).
VUCEVIC SHOWING ALL-AROUND GAME -- Junior forward Nikola Vucevic leads USC with an average of 17.8 points per game and all Pac-10 players with an average of 11.3 rebounds per game. He has posted four double-doubles in USC's first six games. Vucevic has registered five assists in each of the Trojans' last three games. He also has stepped out to hit 40 percent of his three-point attempts (4-for-10) this season.
I'VE STILL GOT ONE HAND -- Redshirt senior Alex Stepheson scored six points, had three blocks and grabbed 13 rebounds in the season opener vs. UC Irvine on Nov. 13, but also suffered a fracture in his left hand. Since then he wears a cast between games and a brace during games. On Nov. 24 vs. CSUF, he had 12 points, 11 rebounds, a block and 2 steals in 29 minutes.
