USC Men's Basketball Opens Big Ten Play Against Ducks

LOS ANGELES – The USC Men's Basketball team (5-3) will kick off Big Ten play this week as they take on a former Pac-12 opponent in the University of Oregon Ducks. Last season, the Trojans also had their conference opener against the Ducks. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m. inside the Galen Center and live on the Big Ten Network for those watching from home.

GAME COVERAGE
WATCH: Big Ten Network
RADIO: ESPN LA APP or USCTrojans.com/listen & USC Gameday App

USC - OREGON HISTORY
The Trojans and the Ducks go back to 1956 when USC went 1-1 against Oregon that season. These two former Pac-12 teams both made the move to the Big Ten Conference, where they will continue their conference rivalry. Last season when these two teams opened conference play against one another, the Ducks came out on top as USC lost with a score of 82-74.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS

Oregon is ranked No. 12 in the most recent AP poll rankings.
The Ducks are 8-0 to start the year and are tied first in the Big Ten Conference with the Wisconsin Badgers.
Oregon recently beat No. 9 ranked Alabama 83-81 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Head coach Dana Altman is entering his 15th season with the Ducks. Altman has led Oregon to a 353-152 (.699) overall record and a 167-91 (.647) conference record during his tenure.
Senior center Nate Bittle is leading the Ducks in scoring - averaging 14.9 points in his eight starts. Bittle is also averaging rebounds per game and 1.9 blocks per game.
In his eight starts, senior guard TJ Bamba is averaging 13.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game this season.
Senior forward Brandon Angel is averaging 10.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 62.2 percent from the field this season. Coming off the bench, senior G Keeshawn Barthelemy is shooting 50 percent from behind the three-point line this season. Barthelemy is averaging 9.9 points per game.
Sophomore guard Jackson Shelstad is leading the Ducks with 3.9 assists per game this season. Shelstad is also averaging 9.8 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Senior forward Jadrian Tracy is averaging 9.3 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the field this season.
The Trojans are 69-62 all-time against the Ducks.

THE RACE TO 100
There are three Trojans who are within 10 of hitting 100 points so far this year, and they are Josh Cohen (98), Desmond Claude (94) and Chibuzo Agbo (91). This trio has remained at the top of the stat sheet for the Trojans through the first eight games.

BUZO'S BUCKETS
During the Trojans' game against Saint Mary's, Chibuzo Agbo recorded his 1,000th career point. He happened to do this on his birthday.

HOME STAND
USC played six straight home games to open the 2024-25 campaign before traveling to the Palm Desert this week 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. They will have another home stand that begins after that as they take on Montana State, CSUN, Southern and Michigan.

STARTING FIVE
Head Coach Eric Musselman has chosen a different starting five in all but one game. He returned to the same lineup he used in the Trojans' win against UT Arlington against New Mexico. Those five guys were Saint Thomas, Desmond Claude, Terrence Williams II, Chibuzo Agbo and Josh Cohen. Only Cohen and Thomas have started in all eight games.

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Josh Cohen

Saint Thomas