USC Men's Basketball Secures Second Ranked Win Against No. 7 Michigan State

Saturday, February 1

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:30 p.m.

USC

13-8,5-5Big Ten

Michigan State

18-3,9-1Big Ten

Michigan St.

Southern California

USC Men's Basketball Secures Second Ranked Win Against No. 7 Michigan State

February 01, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Post-Game Press Conference

The Trojans struck down Michigan State's 13-game winning streak as USC won 70-64.

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (13-8, 5-5 Big Ten) returned to Galen Center to take on No. 7 Michigan State, who came into this game with a 13-game win streak. The Trojans were ready for the challenge. USC took the early lead and never let it go as they took down the Spartans 70-64.

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC was the first on the board thanks to some free throws and a layup from Desmond Claude. USC pushed on from there, going up by 15 early in this game. However, the Spartans battled back from this deficit, getting within three with less than five minutes to go in the first half. USC managed to keep control of their lead through the rest of the first half as the Trojans went to the locker room up 35-32.

From there, USC grabbed five points before Michigan State could get on the board. Once the Spartans got in a rhythm, they went basket-for-basket with the Trojans as neither team could get a leg up on the other for over three minutes. That was until Wesley Yates III made a three-pointer that gave USC a 10-point lead. From there, neither team could score for almost three minutes as the score sat at 55-45 until the 12-minute mark. Michigan State began to find some momentum while USC could not score a basket for more than five minutes as the Spartan fans began to drown out Galen Center as they got within three. That's when USC changed the script. With the help from their fans, the Trojans picked up the pace as they made one final push. That push gave USC the success they were looking for as the Trojans took down No. 7 Michigan State 70-64 for their fifth Big Ten win of the season.

NOTABLES

USC changed their starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 7 against the Washington Huskies. Tonight's lineup featured Desmond Claude, Saint Thomas, Wesley Yates III, Chibuzo Agbo and Rashaun Agee. This was Agee's first start of the season.
Desmond Claude played in his 90th career game against the Spartans. He scored 19 points and added six rebounds and three assists en route to the win. Claude was the first Trojan to hit double digits, scoring 10 points within the first eight minutes of play.
The Trojans started the game on a 22-7 run that lasted over seven minutes.
In his 130th career game, Josh Cohen put up seven points and four rebounds.
Michigan State averaged 18.5 fast break points per game - the Trojans held them to just nine points on fast break opportunities.
Saint Thomas turned in an electric second half, scoring all eight of his points during the final 20 minutes of the game. Thomas also led the team in rebounds with eight. It is also the second time this season where he played all 40 minutes.
USC had three Trojans in the double digits - Desmond Claude (19), Wesley Yates III (15) and Chibuzo Agbo (14).
Michigan State shot under 58 percent from the free throw line against USC. It is the first time this season the Spartans shot under 60 percent from the charity stripe.
It is USC's first win against a Top 10 opponent since beating No. 5 Arizona last season at the Galen Center.
USC's win snapped a 13-game winning streak for MSU and handed the Spartans their first Big Ten loss of the season. The Trojans are now 13-3 when scoring 70-plus points in a game this season.
USC led 35-32 at the half. Both teams scored the same number of points in both the first and second halves. Both teams also finished with a 42.1 field goal percentage.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman the confidence in his players…
"I think our team is a confident team. We lost a hard-fought game against UCLA. The question was how would we respond against Michigan State who came in here ultra-confident. But the players are super fun to coach."

Coach Eric Musselman on Josh Cohen's performance off the bench…
"Anytime you get taken out of the starting lineup and you have started every game, how are you going to respond? I thought he responded incredibly. He played arguably his best Big Ten conference game and he gave us a big lift - not only on the floor, but his energy and excitement helped elevate us as well."

Coach Eric Musselman on Rashaun Agee's impact in today's start…
"He is such a great offensive rebounder. He has great agility, speed and quickness for his size. We tell him to play like Dennis Rodman and to fly around and cause a little more chaos."

Desmond Claude on returning after early game injury…
"I wasn't going to sit out this game. It was a big game that we needed and I stepped up. I didn't really think about it and then it started to feel better."

Desmond Claude on practices following the loss to UCLA…
"Against UCLA, there were some effort issues. Some of us weren't playing as hard as we should have been, so that was really the point of practice the past few days. It was a DNA practice, getting back to our core principles and doing what we do."

Chibuzo Agbo on USC's physicality against Michigan State…
"You can tell a lot about our mindset when we have a physical game. The games where we come out less physical, we tend to lose those games. Every time we play physical, big boy ball, we tend to win."

Chibuzo Agbo on staying steady throughout the season…
"I'm just trying to accept the highs and lows of the season and stay even-keeled. We have the road trip coming up and the Big Ten has a lot of good teams, so we just need to stay even."

UP NEXT
The Trojans will head back to the Midwest, first to the greater Chicago area to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston. Tip-off will be at 6 p.m. PT at Welsh Ryan Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 4. Those who can't make it to Evanston can watch on Big Ten Network or listen through the USC Game Day app.