USC Men's Basketball Wrapped Up Home Stand With 84-69 Loss To No. 24 Badgers

Saturday, January 18

Los Angeles, Calif.

12:00 p.m.

USC

11-7,3-4Big Ten

Wisconsin

15-3,5-2Big Ten

Wisconsin

Southern California

USC Men's Basketball Wrapped Up Home Stand With 84-69 Loss To No. 24 Badgers

January 18, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Post-Game Press Conference

Saint Thomas led the Trojans with 19 points, three assists and two steals against Wisconsin.

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (11-7, 3-4 Big Ten) played one more game at the Galen Center before going back on the road they took on No. 24 Wisconsin. After a hard-fought battle that got the Trojans within five of the Badgers, USC could not find a way to push past Wisconsin as the final score sat at 84-69 in favor of the visitors.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It took a minute and 45 seconds for a basket to go in, which gave the Trojans plenty of time to be the first ones on the board. Wisconsin responded quickly, making five straight baskets while preventing the Trojans from scoring for nearly five minutes. With the help of Saint Thomas, the Trojans broke the scoring drought and started getting to work to try and catch up to the Badgers. With Rashaun Agee stepping up on offense, the Trojans got within 10 of the Badgers before they started to fall back yet again. By the time the first half ended, the Trojans were down by 15 with a score of 42-27.

Desmond Claude kicked off the scoring for the Trojans in the second half with back-to-back baskets as he kickstarted USC's 13-0 run. USC didn't stop there. They kept chipping away at the Badgers' 19-point lead, getting within five with 10 minutes left to go in the half. That is when the Badgers picked up the pace yet again. They made three straight baskets to gain a commanding lead over the Trojans yet again as they were up by 12 with five minutes left to go in this game. The Trojans did what they could to fight back, but it wasn't enough as Wisconsin left the Galen Center with the 84-69 win over USC.

NOTABLES

The Trojans forced three consecutive turnovers to start the matchup against the Badgers.
USC's first basket of the game was a layup made by Wesley Yates III. Yates went on to contribute his sixth straight game with double-digit points as he finished with 11 points to go along with three rebounds and two assists.
Saint Thomas had another big game for the Trojans today as he secured a team-high 19 points. He also led the team in assists with three and steals with two.
Rashaun Agee threw down two dunks against the Badgers. He finished tied with his season-best 15 points while also adding four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Not only that, but Agee eclipsed 550 career rebounds against Wisconsin. He currently stands at 552 total rebounds.
USC went on a 20-4 run during the second half that lasted more than seven minutes to close the lead to three points.
In his 130th career game, Chibuzo Agbo logged his 450th career rebound. Agbo now sits at 458 career rebounds.
Clark Slachjert drained a three with 7:56 remaining in the first half. This was Slajchert's first time scoring in a game for the Trojans since December 22, 2024, against Southern.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on Saint Thomas and Rashaun Agee's energy…
"Saint was assigned to No. 9, and he did a great job. Not just a good job, a great job. Saint and Rashaun played with great energy, so I can credit those two guys."

Coach Eric Musselman on looking ahead to Nebraska on Jan. 22…
"We have to figure out how to get ready on the road, which we have for the most part. I think we've done a good job taking the opposing team's home crowd out of it."

Rashaun Agee on what helped the team go on a 13-0 run in the second half…
"I feel like our urgency of wanting to defend the ball and defending the three-point line got better. Us running in transition, stopping the ball to talk to each other - our communication was better and our effort was better."

Rashaun Agee on how he's developed as a player this season…
"My energy, my effort and being able to come in and help the team. At this point, it's just whatever it takes to help the team. If Coach needs me to play 30 minutes one night, I'll do it. If Coach needs me to be energy off the bench, I'll do it. The thing that has changed is me just wanting to help the team and wanting to win."

Saint Thomas on overall team performance today…
"I don't think they really did anything special, I just feel we were playing a little stagnant today. We didn't look like we did at the beginning of the week and we take all the blame for that. All the guards and Rashaun played a good job coming up to the ball and trying to get us into stuff, but it's just lack of focus on our guards and not moving the ball, but being stagnant."

"It started with me and Shaun bringing the energy to the team, kind of seeing our guys down in the huddle and trying to tell them that they are going to fall at some point. The game is 40 minutes long, it's hard to play great basketball the entire time. Just have to tell guys that it's human nature. They're going to come out of there and miss shots at some point, so we just have to go on a run. We had a little two-man game going on and just got back in the game like that."

UP NEXT
The Trojans will be back on the road for one game as they head back to the Midwest to take on the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Jan. 22. Fans can follow along with all of the action on the Big Ten Network or ESPN LA 710.