USC Back At Galen Saturday vs. New Mexico
December 08, 2011 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 8, 2011
USC (4-5) will host New Mexico (6-2) at the Galen Center on Dec. 10 at 4 p.m. The game will be televised live on FS West with Paul Sunderland and Brandon Granville calling the action and Amy Bender providing sideline commentary. USC is 3-2 in its last five games and is playing its first home game in 19 days.
BREAKING DOWN THE LOBOS -- The Lobos are coming off a 76-60 home win over Missouri State on Dec. 3 to improve to 6-2. Local sophomores Tony Snell (Riverside) at 13.5 and Kendall Williams (Rancho Cucamonga) at 11.4 points per game lead UNM in scoring. Senior forward and UCLA transfer Drew Gordon averages 10.6 points and a team-leading 9.1 rebounds. USC leads the all-time series with the Lobos 5-4, but has lost three straight, the last time on Nov. 11, 1997 (98-76).
USC SHOOTS LIKE THE WEATHER IN MINNESOTA...COLD -- USC shot just 32.7 percent from the field and lost 55-40 at Minnesota before 11,762 fans on Dec. 3, despite holding the Gophers to a season low in points and forcing 18 turnovers. Maurice Jones was the only Trojan in double figures as he tallied 14 points. The close game turned in the final 3:41 of the first half when Minnesota went on a 10-1 run to open up a 28-16 lead at the half. After getting the first basket of the second half on a jumper by Fuller in the lane to cut it to 10 points, the Trojans would get no closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
GEORGIA ON DECK -- USC's next game will be against Georgia (4-5) on Dec. 17 at 7 p.m. at the Galen Center. The Bulldogs are coming off a 68-56 home loss vs. Georgia Tech on Dec. 7. Georgia returns eight lettermen and two starters from a team that went 21-12 during the 2010-11 season. Freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leads Georgia with an average of 13.4 points per game. USC lost its only other meeting with Georgia 77-75 in overtime on Dec. 30, 1972.
SCHEDULE SPURTS -- With the last game at Minnesota on Dec. 3, USC played nine games in the first 23 days of the season. The game today vs. New Mexico is the only Trojan game in the 13 days following the Minnesota game. Beginning with the game vs. Georgia on Dec. 17, USC will play five games in 15 days.
BE PART OF IT...MINER JERSEY TO BE RETIRED -- USC will be retiring the No. 23 uniform of Harold Miner at the Jan. 15 game vs. UCLA. Miner will be in attendance at the game and among the festivities will be a Harold Miner bobblehead giveaway to 2000 lucky fans and a Fanfest in the Hall of Fame area of the Galen Center with face painting, pop-a-shot, sign making, the Dance Force, the Song Girls, posters, video games and much more. Fans can purchase tickets to that game by calling the USC Ticket office at (213) 740-GOSC (4672) or online at www.gettrojantix.com.
A BIG HILL TO CLIMB -- When starting point guard and senior leader Jio Fontan went down with a knee injury in August it left USC with just 19.7 percent of its scoring returning and 12.4 percent of its rebounding returning entering the 2011-12 season. In terms of returning scoring for teams from BCS conferences (ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12), only 3 schools: St. Johns (3.7 percent), Boston College (10.8 percent) and Texas (17.0 percent) have a lower percentage of returning production. There were only eight schools in the country which entered the season with less than 20 percent of its scoring returning from a season ago.
DEDMON SIDELINED WITH FOOT INJURY...OR NOT - USC sophomore forward Dewayne Dedmon was diagnosed with a stress injury to the fifth metatarsal in his right foot on Nov. 28 and it was announced on Nov. 29 that he could miss 4-6 weeks. Dedmon first noted mild discomfort early the week of Nov. 21-27, but was not limited by pain until after the game vs. South Carolina at the Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 26. he scored 15 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals in that game. An MRI of his foot was taken on Nov. 28 and the stress injury was detected. With the aid of a walking boot and crutches, he is limited to non-weightbearing activity for a minimum of one week, at which time he will be re-evaluated. Dedmon was tested on the morning of Dec. 3 and felt well enough to play in the game at Minnesota, but returned to the boot after the game and will continue to be evaluated daily.
SMITH HOPES TO RETURN SATURDAY - USC redshirt sophomore forward Evan Smith began limited practicing on Dec. 6 with the hopes of returning to action on Saturday, Dec. 10 vs. New Mexico. Smith, who has yet to play this season and last played in a game for USC on Dec. 11, 2009 vs. Idaho State, reinjured the left glenoid labrum of his left shoulder on Oct. 18 which had previously been repaired on Dec. 23, 2010. He was treated with a conservative treatment plan of rest and rehabilitation, with the goal of returning Evan to basketball activity without surgical intervention. Smith played in seven games as a freshman during the 2009-10 season and then was injured before last season which required surgery and he redshirted. Smith played with USC on the trip to Brazil in August (starting 2 games), but reinjured his left shoulder a week into practice for the 2011-12 season.
TROJANS TAKE ROUTE 66 -- USC has held its opponents to an average of 55.4 points per game (16th lowest in the country) and has not allowed an opponent to score more than 66 points this season. It is the first time USC has started a season holding the opposition to 66 points or less for the first nine games since the 1948 season when it held all 24 opponents to under 66 points.
NO DEFENSE FOR THIS -- USC has been outscored from the free throw line by 27 points in the first nine games. USC has struggled at the charity stripe, making just 59.3 percent (86-for-145). Despite taking seven less free throws, USC's opponents have gained 27 points behind some amazing shooting, hitting 81.9 percent (113-for-138). To put that in perspective, USC's opponents have combined to hit free throws at a rate higher than the top team in the country a year ago (81.8%).
ALWAYS ENTERTAINING -- Forty-five of the 73 games played by USC in the last three seasons have been decided by 10 points or less (61.6 percent). Also, 18 of the 34 losses have been decided by 6 points or less (52.9 percent). USC played five consecutive games decided by 7 points or less to start the season before losing by 11 points to UNLV on Nov. 25. It was the first time since the 2010 season and just the third time in the past 21 seasons USC had played five straight games decided by 7 points or less. USC then defeated South Carolina be three points on Nov. 26, before winning by 21 at UC Riverside and losing by 15 at Minnesota. Six of nine games this season have been decided by 7 points or less.
DRIVEN BY DEFENSE -- USC has held its opponents to 55.4 points per game and a 38.3 shooting percentage through the first nine games. USC held opponents to a conference low of 62.7 points per game during the 2010-11 season. USC was 13-1 in games it held the opponent under 60 points last season, the lone loss being its NCAA Tournament loss to VCU (59-46). In the past seven seasons, USC has held the opponent to under 60 points 86 times and is 69-17 in those games (.802 winning percentage). USC also held the opposition to under 40 percent shooting 16 times during the 2010-11 season and was 14-2 in those games. During the past seven seasons USC has held the opponent to under 40 percent shooting 108 times and is 84-24 in those games (.778 winning percentage). USC has allowed 80 points or more just five times in the first 73 games under head coach Kevin O'Neill and one of those games was a double-overtime contest. USC is 0-5 in those games.
BOARD GAMES -- USC is 3-0 this season when out rebounding the opposition and 1-5 when being outrebounded. USC allowed 10 or more offensive rebounds in the first six games, but has allowed just 17 in the last three games combined. USC was 4-11 in the games it was outrebounded last season.
