USC To Host Oregon State Saturday

The USC Trojans (18-9, 9-5) will host the Oregon State Beavers (13-12, 5-8) at the Galen Center on Feb. 17 at 8:00 p.m. USC is tied for second in the Pac-12 and its 9-5 start to conference play is its best since also beginning 9-5 in 2007. USC is attempting to sweep the season series from the Oregon schools in the same season for the first time since 2008.

BREAKING DOWN OREGON STATE -- Oregon State lost 75-68 at UCLA on Feb. 15, dropping to 0-6 in conference road games with all of the losses being by single digits. USC won at Oregon State 74-67 on Jan. 20 and is 71-63 all-time against the Beavers, which reflects two wins vacated by USC due to NCAA penalty. Oregon State is led in scoring by Tres Tinkle (18.2 ppg) and Stephen Thompson Jr. (16.4 ppg).

USC DEFEATS OREGON ON METU LAYUP -- Chimezie Metu's layup off a long lob from Jordan McLaughlin with 0.8 seconds remaining gave USC a 72-70 win over Oregon at the Galen Center on Feb. 15. The win snapped a seven-game home losing streak to the Ducks. Oregon had tied the game at 70 on a Troy Brown putback with 17 seconds remaining. USC took the lead at 70-68 with 1:24 left when Elijah Stewart drilled a three-pointer from the wing. On the following possession, Oregon's MiKyle McIntosh was called for an offensive foul. Metu was then fouled and missed both free throws with 31 seconds to play, setting up the final sequence. Metu had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds and McLaughlin had a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists. Jonah Mathews led USC with a season-high 20 points, tying a career high with 5 3-pointers made. McIntosh led Oregon with a career-high 23 points. There were 12 ties and 15 lead changes in the game, 11 of the lead changes in the second half. USC made 51.8 percent of its shots, including 60.7 percent in the second half. The Ducks were held to 42.6 percent shooting in the game. Oregon led by 7 points in the first half and led 29-28 at halftime.

TRIP TO COLORADO ON DECK - USC's next game will be at Colorado (15-11, 7-7) in Boulder, Colo. on Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. PT. The Buffaloes will play at Washington on Feb. 17 before hosting USC. USC defeated Colorado 70-58 at the Galen Center on Jan. 10, but trails 6-9 in the all-time series. Colorado is led in scoring by freshman McKinley Wright (14.5 ppg) and senior George King (13.8 ppg). Colorado is 11-2 at home this season.

BOATWRIGHT OUT FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON -- USC junior forward Bennie Boatwright will miss the remainder of the 2018 season after suffering a left patella injury during Thursday's (Feb. 15) Trojan victory over Oregon. He will be sidelined several months and surgery is not expected. Boatwright was averaging 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in 2018, both second among the Trojans. The three-year starter is averaging 13.0 points per game in his career and is 22 points away from 1,000 career points scored. Boatwright missed 17 of USC's first 22 games last season, first while recovering from a summer labrum injury and then after spraining a ligament in his left knee at San Diego.

McLAUGHLIN A COUSY AWARD FINALIST -- Jordan McLaughlin is one of 10 players remaining on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. The award is named after the Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy and recognizes the top point guards in Division I men's college basketball. McLaughlin, a three-year team captain, is averaging 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 7.6 assists this season. McLaughlin leads all Pac-12 players this season in assists with 205, which is tied for third nationally. Last season he was the only player in the country with at least three assists in every game and he has accomplished that in all 27 games this season as well, running his nation's longest streak to 64 consecutive games with at least three assists (dating back to the 2015-16 season).

THORNTON TOES THE LINE -- Derryck Thornton has made all 17 of his free throws this season. His streak was kept alive at Arizona on a lane violation on the front end of a 1-and-1.

JONAH FROM THE ARC -- Jonah Mathews has made 52.0 percent (26-for-50) of his shots from beyond the arc over the past 10 games. For the year, Mathews has made 44.4 percent of his three-pointers (44-for-99) which ranks third among conference players. Mathews started last game after coming off the bench the previous nine games and has averaged 11.0 points per game (110 total points), while making 2.6 three-pointers per game in that stretch.

PROTECTING THE ROCK -- USC ranks 12th in the country with a 1.51 assist to turnover ratio through games of Feb. 16. USC also ranks 20th in fewest turnovers per game at 10.9 per game. USC leads all Pac-12 teams in both categories.

NICK THE QUICK -- USC forward Nick Rakocevic scored 36 points and had 14 rebounds on the trip to the Bay Area from Jan. 4-7. He also made 69.6 percent of his shots (16-for-23) and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in the two games. He had only one offensive rebounds vs. Oregon on Feb. 15, but ranks sixth in the Pac-12 with an average of 2.6 offensive rebounds per game. He leads USC with 70 offensive rebounds. He has scored 50 points and grabbed 28 rebounds in the last four games for an average of 12.5 points and 7.0. Rakocevic has made a team-leading 64.3 percent of his shots this season and in Pac-12 games, he leads all players with a 66.3 shooting percentage.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bennie Boatwright

Jonah Mathews

Jordan McLaughlin

Chimezie Metu

Nick Rakocevic

Elijah Stewart

Derryck Thornton