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USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Non-Conference Play Against Jaguars
December 21, 2024 | Men's Basketball
The Trojans will play their final game of 2024 against Southern University.
LOS ANGELES – The USC Men's Basketball team (8-4, 1-1 Big Ten) is ready for their final game of non-conference play as they take on the Jaguars of Southern University on Sunday, Dec. 22, at 1 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. These two teams have only played each other almost 20 years ago to the day. During that meeting, the Trojans came out with the 91-58 win.
LAST TIME OUT
The Trojans came out for a midweek game in the Galen Center to take on another Southern California team in the CSUN Matadors. USC started the game off strong, going on a 9-0 run early. However, the scrappy Matadors closed the gap and took a two-point lead over the Trojans late in the half. With just a few seconds left on the clock, USC worked to get off a quick shot as Desmond Claude passed the ball to Kevin Patton Jr., who made a deep three-pointer to give USC the one-point advantage at halftime. Once they returned to the court for the second half, USC picked up where they left off as they ended up scoring 20 more points than CSUN in this half. This resulted in the Trojans earning the 90-69 win over the Matadors.
Chibuzo Agbo had a great showing against the Matadors as he led the team with 23 points. Claude did not want to be left out of the conversation as he also shined with 21 points and nine assists. Those numbers resulted in Claude contributing to 46 of the team's 90 points.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
- The Southern Jaguars are starting the season with a 6-5 record through non-conference play, putting them in first place heading into SWAC play. They were selected to finish third in the conference in their preseason poll.
- Head Coach Kevin Johnson is in his second season with the Jaguars. He led Southern to a third-place finish in the SWAC last season with an 18-15 record.
- The Jaguars are one of the best teams in the NCAA when it comes to bench points and steals. They are second in the country for points coming from the bench, averaging 44.1 per game. They are also third in the NCAA in steals, averaging 10.6 per game.
- Junior guard Michael Jacobs has been the biggest offensive weapon for the Jaguars as he is averaging 11.6 points per game. Not only that, but he is tied for the most steals with 15 and second in assists with 34. He also has the No. 1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the SWAC as he sits at 2.00.
- Sophomore guard Jordan Johnson is close behind Jacobs as he is averaging 10.5 points per game. He is also tied with Jacobs for the most steals on the team with 15.
- Derrick Tezeno, DaMariee Jones and AJ Barnes are the ones who crash the boards for Southern. Tezeno currently leads the team in rebounds with 50 while Jones and Barnes are close behind with 49. Jones and Barnes are also big when it comes to offensive rebounds, grabbing 26 and 20, respectively.
- The Jaguars are 2-6 when playing away from home this season. They started their West Coast road trip playing LMU on Friday evening before coming to play USC today.
FROM THE CHARITY STRIPE
The Trojans have been making an impact from the free throw line. They currently rank third in the Big Ten as a team as they are making 75.8 percent of their free throw shots. Desmond Claude and Chibuzo Agbo are also great free throw shooters as they rank in the Top 15 in the Big Ten in made free throws with 55 and 40, respectively.
SHARING IS CARING
When it comes to distributing the ball, the Trojans dish out assists. Of the shots the Trojans make, 59.2 percent of those shots are assisted. According to CBB Analytics, this puts the Trojans in the 88th percentile for this stat. They also rank in the Top 40 in the NCAA in assist percentage, which calculates the number of assists in relation
THE BEST OF BUZO
Chibuzo Agbo is second on the team in points as he currently has 152 this season. Agbo is also crucial to the team from beyond the arc. When he makes at least one three-pointer in a game, the team has a 10-2 record. When Agbo doesn't make a three, the team is 0-2. The Trojans are also 6-1 when Agbo scores more than 10 points.
As if this wasn't enough, Agbo is also an asset from the charity stripe. His free throw streak ended during the last game, but not before he made 29 free throws in a row which is the first time since the 2016-17 season that a Trojan has made that many in a row. Over the last five games, he has maintained a free throw percentage of 95.7 percent. He is currently 32nd in the NCAA and fourth in the Big Ten for his free throw percentage this season, which sits at 90.9 percent.
DES DRAWS
When it comes to making it to the free throw line, Desmond Claude has made it to the line the most on USC's team. He draws an average of 6.1 fouls per game. During his last game against CSUN, he tied his season-high of nine made free throws on 10 attempts. He also had stellar performances from the charity stripe came against Washington when he made nine of his 11 attempts. He also has almost double the number of free throws as the next Trojan as he sits at 74 attempts this year.
IN THE PAINT
The Trojans shot 50.7 percent of their shots from the paint. Of those shots, they find the most success right around the rim as they make 67.8 percent of the shots they put up in that range.
