USC Men’s Basketball Continues Nonconference Play Against Idaho State

LOS ANGELES – USC men's basketball continues nonconference play this Thursday, Nov. 7 as the Trojans welcome Idaho State to the Galen Center for a 7 p.m. contest.

Troy opened the season with a statement home-opening win over Chattanooga on Monday, Nov. 4, downing the Mocs 77-51. USC now sits at 105-25 in nonconference games at the Galen Center.

GAME COVERAGE
STREAM: B1G+ (7 p.m. 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 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 1,713-1,262* 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 82-18 record when it scores 70 or more points.

THE GALEN ADVANTAGE -- USC is 212-84 in 19 seasons at the Galen Center since it opened on Nov. 16, 2006.  USC is also 105-25 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.

IDAHO STATE SCOUTING REPORT --
- Idaho State (0-1) opened the 2024-25 season against ASU on Tuesday, Nov. 5, falling 55-48 to the Sun Devils in Tempe, Ariz.
- Against ASU, three Bengals scored in the double digits - Isaiah Griffin (12), Jake O'Neill (10) and Connor Hollenbeck (10). O'Neill led the team in rebounding with 11 boards.
- In conference play, the Bengals are 32-59 under Looney as head coach.
- The Bengals made the Big Sky Conference Tournament semifinals in 202-24 after beating Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado. Idaho State lost to Montana 72-58 in the semifinal.
- Idaho State returns four players from last season - (F) Isaiah Griffin, (G)AJ Burgin, (G) Jaedyn Brown and (F) Evan Otten.
- Griffin started all 34 games for the Bengals last season, averaging 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 0.4 steals in 30.2 minutes per game (avg.).
- Brown redshirted in 2023-24. He earned All-State Player of the Year honors during his senior year of high school in Washington.
- Otten also redshirted last season for the Bengals, but averaged 16.5 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game in his senior season of high school.
- Recruited 13 players to this year's team, including two rookies.
- Last made the NCAA Tournament in 1987

USC-IDAHO STATE HISTORY:
The Trojans are 5-0 all-time against the Bengals. The last time the two programs met was in 2010, when the Trojans beat the Bengals 59-53.

AGAINST THE MOCS:
Graduate guard Chibuzo Agbo led the way for the Trojans, scoring 14 points and shooting 4-9 from three-point range. He was joined in double digits by graduate forward Matt Knowling, who posted a massive game from the bench, scoring 13 while shooting 100 percent from the field. It was a team effort for the Trojans, who shot a collective 50 percent from the field and tallied 21 assists.

The Trojan bench also had a strong showing, scoring 41 of the team's 77 points. USC also turned in a strong defensive performance, holding the Mocs to just 27.8 percent from the field and 17.6 percent from three. In addition to having two players in double digits, four Trojans scored eight or more points, including both Thomas and junior guard Desmond Claude with nine a piece.

Freshman guard Isaiah Elohim and sophomore guard Wesley Yates III both shined in their first collegiate games, scoring eight and nine respectively off the bench. Troy's offense exploded in the second half, outscoring Chattanooga by sixteen points. With preseason standout Terrance Williams out, the Trojan contingent's contribution from across the rotation carried USC to victory.

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Isaiah Elohim

Matt Knowling

Wesley Yates III