USC Men's Basketball Continues Home Stand Against UT Arlington on Wednesday

LOS ANGELES - USC men's basketball continues a six game home stand this week with a Wednesday night contest against the UT Arlington Mavericks on Nov. 13 at the Galen Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. PT.

GAME COVERAGE
STREAM: Big Ten Network (8 p.m. PT)
RADIO: ESPN LA APP or USCTrojans.com/listen & USC Gameday App

NEW LOOK TROJANS -- The new look USC 2024-25 squad consists of 16 new faces and two returning members of last year's team - including 11 recruited from the transfer portal.

MUSSELMAN AT THE HELM: Eric Musselman was named the USC Men's Basketball Head Coach, Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics Jennifer Cohen announced on April 4, 2024.

Eric Musselman, 59, is a proven winner who has excelled at both the collegiate and professional levels, most recently at Arkansas where he led the Razorbacks to a 111-59 record in five seasons as the leader of the program.  The 111 wins in that stretch were the 13th-most among all Power 6 conference teams.  In eight of his nine seasons as a collegiate head coach at Nevada (2016-19) and Arkansas (2020-24), his teams won 20 or more games and he has compiled a 221-93 record for a 70.4 winning percentage.  Musselman has the 10th-best winning percentage of all active Division I coaches who have coached at least nine seasons.  Musselman has over 30 years of coaching experience, including 22 years as a professional and collegiate head coach.

A HISTORY OF WINNING -- USC has compiled a record of 1,714-1,262* in its 118 years of intercollegiate basketball competition.  USC has had a .500 or better record in 83 of its first 118 seasons. * 21 wins and one loss in 2007-08 vacated due to NCAA penalty, original record: 1,733-1,260.

MAGICAL BOTH WAYS -- Since the 2019 season, USC owns a 83-18 record when it scores 70 or more points.

THE GALEN ADVANTAGE -- USC is 213-84 at the Galen Center since it opened on Nov. 16, 2006.  USC is also 106-25 in nonconference games at the Galen Center.

TRANSFER TROJANS -- The Trojans are the most experienced Power 5 team in college basketball based on minutes played per game last season (327.6). The Trojan transfer class combined to average almost 150 points per game last season - the most incoming points of any transfer class in the nation.

USC added transfer talent from Michigan, Xavier, Yale, Northern Colorado/Illinois Chicago, UC San Diego, Texas Tech/Boise State, Washington, Bowling Green/Casper College/New Mexico State and Penn.

USC - UTA SERIES HISTORY -- USC and UT Arlington will face off for the first time in program history on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

UT ARLINGTON (1-1) SCOUTING REPORT --
- UT Arlington men's basketball was picked to finish second during the 2024-25 season by the WAC league's head coaches.
- UT Arlington beat UNT Dallas (90-55) to open the season on Nov. 4, before falling to Louisiana Tech (92-77) on Nov. 9.
-Four UTA Mavericks finished Saturday's game against LA Tech in double figures, which was the second-straight game that has occured.
- Senior forward Troy Hupstead hit the 20-point mark for the seventh time in his career on Saturday against LA Tech.
- UTA has 11 new faces that joined the program via the transfer portal and eight of those have already made their debuts.
- Guard Jaden Wells has 315 career 3-pointers, which ranks second among active NCAA players.
- The Mavs are coming off a season in which they won 20 games under Turner in his first season at the helm, which culminated in a berth in the WAC Championship Game.
- UTA returns a pair of key contributors in senior guard Brandyn Talbot and sophomore guard Kade Douglas.
- Some key names that joined the Mavs are forward/center Lance Ware (Villanova), forwards Raysean Seamster (Eastern Arizona), Troy Hupstead (Maryland Eastern Shore) and Diante Smith (Nicholls), as well as guards Jaden Wells (Oklahoma Christian), Brody Robinson (Garden City CC) and Darius Burford (Illinois State).

NEW HEIGHTS -- USC has eight players listed on the roster which are 6-7 or taller.  USC's average height per player is 6'54", which ranks 28th among all schools, according to Kenpom.com. The Trojans are also the fifth tallest team on average in the Big Ten.

COHEN'S CORNER -- Through two games, #33 Josh Cohen is averaging 11.5 points per game and four rebounds. Against Idaho State, Cohen led USC in scoring with 19 points and shot 66.7% from the field in 29 minutes played.

SAINT SHARES -- Trojan Saint Thomas has tallied 13 assists through two games as a Trojan. Against Idaho State, Thomas recorded nine first half assists.

MIGHTY MEN -- Trojans Chibuzo Agbo and Saint Tomas are tied for fifth overall in percentage (81.2%) of minutes played amongst Big Ten Conference players.

PRESEASON RECAP -- USC went 2-0 in preseason exhibition play, powering past UTSA 84-63 on Oct. 15 and No. 6 Gonzaga 96-93 on Oct. 26.

Against UTSA at the Galen Center, USC's Saint Thomas led the team in scoring, recording 21 points and two assists. Trojans Desmond Claude and Josh Cohen also hit double digits, with Claude scoring 14 points and Cohen contributing 10. In exhibition action, the Trojan defense kept UTSA to just 38.7 percent shooting from the floor, while USC knocked out a 54.9 percent effort on the day. As a squad, Troy also tallied four blocks, six steals and outrebounded the Roadrunners 40-26.

Against the Zags, USC led for nearly 30 minutes of the game, outrebounded Gonzaga 34-32 and blocked five shots. USC, who won the battle in the paint 38-32, also held the Zags to just 40.9% from the three, as the Zags were 9-22. Five Trojans hit the double digits during the exhibition, led by Williams' 20 points. Chibuzo Agbo scored 15 for Troy and led USC in rebounding with seven boards. Desmond Claude, Josh Cohen and Matt Knowling also hit double digits on Saturday, with Claude scoring 19 points and Cohen and Knowling each contributing 13.

THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. The student-athlete experience at USC is truly unmatched.

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Josh Cohen

Matt Knowling

Saint Thomas