USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Six-Game Home Stand Against Grambling State

Sunday, November 24

Los Angeles, Calif.

4:00 p.m.

USC

Grambling

Tickets

Next Event

Grambling

W, 80-69

Nov 24 (Sun)

4:00 p.m.

Box Score Recap Highlights PRESS CONFERENCE NOTES AND QUOTES Watch Listen Preview Live Stats Tickets History

Full Schedule

Wesley Yates III

Guard

/ Men's Basketball

CHIBUZO AGBO PUTS UP A SHOT FROM BEYOND THE ARC

Photo by: John McGillen/USC Athletics

USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Six-Game Home Stand Against Grambling State

November 23, 2024 | Men's Basketball

GAME NOTES

The Trojans will host the Tigers for a 4 p.m. PT contest at the Galen Center on Sunday, Nov. 24.

SUNDAY'S GAME -- USC welcomes the Grambling State Tigers for a nonconference game at the Galen Center on Sunday, Nov. 24.  Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT.

The contest wraps up a six-game home stand for the Trojans to open the 2024-25 season.

GAME COVERAGE
STREAM: B1G+ (4:00 PM PT)
RADIO: ESPN LA 710 AM or USCTrojans.com/listen & USC Gameday App

NEW LOOK TROJANS -- The new look USC 2024-25 squad consists of 17 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.

USC - GRAMBLING HISTORY -- Wednesday will be the second all-time meeting between the two programs, with USC holding a 1-0 series advantage. The last time the Trojans faced the Spartans was in 1977.

GRAMBLING STATE (1-3) SCOUTING REPORT --
-  Head coach Donte Jackson is in his eighth season with the Tigers.
-  Jackson led Grambling State to an NCAA tournament berth last season as the Tigers were eliminated by the Purdue Boilermakers in the Round of 64.
-  The Tigers have started the season 1-3 with a win against Southern University at New Orleans followed by losses to Ole Miss, Florida and New Mexico.
-  Grambling State has three players averaging double-digit points this season.
-  Senior G Kintavious Dozier is leading the Tigers this season with 13.0 points per game. Dozier is also averaging 4.0 rebounds per game as an undersized guard.
-  Junior G/F Antwan Burnett is averaging 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Burnett is shooting 70% from three-point range this season.
-  Junior G Mikale Stevenson is averaging 11.0 points this season. Stevenson is also leading the Tigers with 4.3 assists per game.
-  Having not started a game for the Tigers this season, junior F James Flippin is averaging 9.3 points in 21.3 minutes per game.
-  Senior F Ernest Ross has started all three games for Grambling State this season - averaging 7.3 points per game.
-  Dozier, Burnett, Flippin, and Ross are all shooting 40% or better from the field this season.
-  Junior F P.J. Eason is leading the Tigers with 1.8 blocks per game.
-  This is the first ever meeting between USC and Grambling State.
-  Grambling State is entering its matchup with USC coming off of a 80-58 loss to the University of New Mexico.

NEW HEIGHTS -- USC has eight players listed on the roster which are 6-7 or taller.  USC's average height per player is 78.5" or 6'54" which ranks 20th in the country, according to
Kenpom.com. The Trojans are also the fourth tallest team on average in the Big Ten.

COHEN'S CORNER -- Through five games, #33 Josh Cohen is averaging 10.8 points per game, 2.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists. 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 30 assists through five games as a Trojan. Against Idaho State, Thomas recorded nine first half assists. He's currently averaging 6.0 assists per game.

USC CAN SCORE -- Through three games, Terrance Williams II has tallied 46 points and leads USC in points per game - 15.3. Desmond Claude has tallied 63 points through five games and is averaging 12.6 points per game. As a squad, USC has scored 75 or more points in four of it's five opening contests.

OH HOW THE TABLES TURN -- The Trojans have forced 71 turnovers, while committing only 46 through five games (+5 margin)

USC is also averaging 14.2 points per game off of turnovers.

MAGICAL BOTH WAYS -- Since the 2019 season, USC owns a 85-18 record when it scores 70 or more points.

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.

A HISTORY OF WINNING -- USC has compiled a record of 1,716-1,263* 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.

THE GALEN ADVANTAGE -- USC is 215-85 at the Galen Center since it opened on Nov. 16, 2006.  USC is also 108-26 in nonconference games at the Galen Center.

HOME STAND -- USC will play six-straight home games to open the 2024-25 campaign before traveling to the Palm Desert for the Acrisure Thanksgiving Classic. The Trojans are set to travel out of the state just once in 2024 - a conference trip to Washington on Dec. 7.

STRAIGHT THEFT -- Sophomore Wesley Yates III leads USC in steals this season with eight, averaging 1.6  steals per game in just under 20.8 minutes played per contest (average).

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.

KATZ PRESEASON -- NCAA analyst Andy Katz named transfer Desmond Claude to his Preseason All-Big Ten Third- Team for 2024-25. Katz also named Eric Musselman one of his top-ten new men's college basketball coaches for the 2024-25 season.

BIG TEN PREDICTIONS --  USC was picked to finish 14th in the 2024-25 Pac-12 preseason poll by league media.  The rest of the predictions went as follows: 1.) Purdue (572), 2.) Indiana (549), 3.) UCLA (510), 4.) Illinois (458), 5.) Michigan State (448), 6.) Oregon (412), 7.) Rutgers (391), 8.) Ohio State (369), 9.) Michigan (342), 10.) Maryland (263), 11.) Iowa (249), T-12.) Wisconsin (212), T-12.) Nebraska (212), 14.) USC (196), 15.) Washington (158), 16.) Northwestern (153), 17.) Penn State (87) and 18.) Minnesota (62).

FAMILY TIES -- The Trojan family is more than a figure of speech on the USC men's basketball squad as head coach Eric Musselman is the father of USC assistant coach Michael Musselman and graduate assistant Matthew Musselman.

USC assistant coach Quncy Pondexter and Trojan Wesley Yates III are cousins &  both joined USC after time spent at Washington.

Trojans Kevin Patton Jr. and Kallai Patton are siblings from Murrieta, Calif.

BROTHERLY LOVE -- USC is home to Trojans Kevin Patton Jr. and Kallai Patton, brothers from Murrieta, Calif. Both attended Rancho Christian High School. Kevin graduated in 2023, while Kallai was a 2024 graduate. In 2023, the two teamed up to capture the DII CIF Southern Section title for Rancho Christian.

OUT IN THE COMMUNITY -- The USC men's basketball team tries to be a conscientious member of the community and has routinely had youth groups or schools visit practice or ventured out into the community for an event over the last several years.  The Trojans recently handed out backpacks in partnership with World Vision at the Barack Obama Charter School to kick off the new year back in August.

SLAJCHERT LOVES MAYO -- #32 Clark Slajchert is representing a Trojan legend every time he puts on the USC Jersey as the LA native grew up idolizing O.J. Mayo. Slajchert grew up watching Mayo and knew when he commited to USC that he wanted to wear number 32 on the court.

A top recruit in the class of 2007, Mayo joined the Trojans for one season of college basketball. He average 20.7
points per game and made the All-Pac 10 First Team alongside then-fellow freshmen Kevin Love and James Harden. Mayo's season ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and then, inevitably, was off to the draft. Minnesota chose Mayo third overall in June of 2008.

Slajchert, born in 2000, was just 7 years old when Mayo became a Trojan. Now, 16 years later, Slajchert looks to carry on the history of number 32, while also leaving behind his own legacy.

USC TO THE NBA -- USC had 11 former players that began the 2024-25 season on NBA rosters, which ranked in the top 5 among all schools.  Opening night of the 2024-25 season saw Trojan Drew Peterson receive his 2024 NBA Championship ring with the Boston Celtics and Onyeka Okongwu record a career high 28 points. Recent Trojan Bronny James also made history with his father and 22-year NBA veteran Lebron James on opening night, as the pair became the first father-son duo to play together in an NBA game.

  Player Team
Isaiah Collier                                      Utah Jazz
DeMar DeRozan                                Sacramento Kings
Taj Gibson Charlotte Hornets
Bronny James                                    Los Angeles Lakers
Jordan McLaughlin Sacramento Kings
De'Anthony Melton Golden State Warriors
Evan Mobley Cleveland Cavaliers
Onyeka Okongwu Atlanta Hawks
Drew Peterson Boston Celtics
Kevin Porter Jr.    Los Angeles Clippers
Nikola Vucevic                                   Chicago Bulls

TROJANS IN THE NBA -- As of Nov. 18, USC's players in the NBA are ranked top-5 in production in five categories including points (1,207), rebound (507), assists (233), steals

USC MBB: USC HC Eric Musselman, Gabe Dynes, Jordan Marsh and Terrance Williams II | Sept. 3, 2025

Wednesday, September 03

USC Men's Basketball - Alijah Arenas Opening Press Conference

Tuesday, June 24

Men's Basketball Open Media Availability

Thursday, June 12

Men's Basketball: Villanova 60, USC 59 - Highlights (4/3/25)

Thursday, April 03

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Josh Cohen

Isaiah Collier

Bronny James

Matt Knowling

Kallai Patton

Kevin Patton Jr.

Clark Slajchert

Saint Thomas

Terrance Williams II

Wesley Yates III

USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Six-Game Home Stand Against Grambling State

Trojans footer

University Southern California Trojans

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Josh Cohen

Isaiah Collier

Bronny James

Matt Knowling

Kallai Patton

Kevin Patton Jr.

Clark Slajchert

Saint Thomas

Terrance Williams II

Wesley Yates III

USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Six-Game Home Stand Against Grambling State

Related Videos

Trojans footer