USC Men's Basketball Ready To Face Michigan In Big Ten Play

LOS ANGELES – The New Year is here and it comes with USC Men's Basketball (9-4, 1-1 Big Ten) continuing with Big Ten play as they host the University of Michigan Wolverines. These two teams have not played each other in 44 years as their last meeting took place in 1981 when the Trojans took down the Wolverines 77-63.

LAST TIME OUT
USC played their final non-conference game of the season as they took on the Southern University Jaguars. The Trojans had control of this game as Desmond Claude's free throws gave USC their first points of the game. They never let up from there. For the remainder of the game, the Trojans stayed on top of the Jaguars, going up by as many as 31 during the game. Ultimately, USC won their final non-conference game of the 2024-25 season with a score of 82-51.

Four Trojans secured double-digit points in this game. For the second straight game, Chibuzo Agbo led USC in scoring as he finished with 18 points while Josh Cohen was close behind with 17. Along with those two, Claude and Wesley Yates III registered double-digit points as they snagged 13 and 11, respectively.

SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES

Michigan has had a great non-conference slate as they get ready to continue Big Ten play here on the West Coast. They have a 10-3 record so far this season, only losing non-conference games to Wake Forest, Oklahoma and Arkansas. All those losses were only by two points or less.
The Wolverines are one of the best shooting teams in the country. They are third in the NCAA in effective field goal percentage (.590) and sixth in field goal percentage (.512). Along with that, KenPom has Michigan as the second-best team in the NCAA when it comes to two-point field goal percentage as they are shooting at a 62.7 clip from inside the arc.
A huge part of that is senior center Vladislav Goldin who is fifth in the NCAA and No. 1 in the Big Ten when it comes to field goal percentage as he boasts a 68.3 percent clip.
The Wolverines have started the same five guys in all 13 games this season. Those players are Tre Donaldson, Vladislav Goldin, Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle Jr., and Danny Wolf. Four of these five starters are averaging double-digit points, and they are Goldin (13.9), Gayle Jr. (12.4), Donaldson (12.3) and Wolf (11.9)
Junior forward Danny Wolf is not just the best Michigan rebounder, but he is one of the best rebounders in the NCAA. He currently ranks 15th in the NCAA in rebounds per game as he averages 10.2 boards a game. With these numbers, he is averaging a double-double per game.
Junior guard Tre Donaldson isn't just one of the team's leading scorers, but he is the team's assist leader as he has 49 on the season, which averages out to 3.8 per game. Wolf is close behind Donaldson with 46 assists on the season.

WHEREABOUTS
This game between USC and Michigan will take place this Saturday, Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. For those who can't make it to the Galen Center, they can watch on Fox Sports or listen through ESPN LA 710.

THE GALEN ADVANTAGE
USC is 219-86 at the Galen Center since it opened on Nov. 16, 2006. USC is also 111-26 in non-conference games at the Galen Center.

BOARDS GALORE
One name continues to show up consistently as the leading rebounder for the Trojans, and that name is Saint Thomas. He has now had the most rebounds or was tied for the most rebounds on the team in nine of the team's 13 games. He leads the team in this stat category with 77.

STARTING FIVE
Head Coach Eric Musselman is starting to keep a consistent starting lineup, sticking with Saint Thomas, Desmond Claude, Wesley Yates III, Chibuzo Agbo and Josh Cohen. Of those five, four finished in double-digits against both CSUN and Southern. Saint Thomas and Josh Cohen are the only two Trojans to start in every game for USC. With this starting lineup, the Trojans have won four straight games and have won all four of those games by 20 or more points. This is the first time since 1954 that the Trojans won four consecutive games by 20 or more points.

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Josh Cohen

Saint Thomas

Wesley Yates III