USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Home Stand Against Minnesota

LOS ANGELES – USC Men's Basketball (14-10, 6-7 Big Ten) will return to the Galen Center this Saturday, Feb. 15, as they take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. These two teams faced each other six times, with the Trojans losing during their last meeting back in 2012. Overall, USC is 2-2 against Minnesota in Los Angeles.

LAST TIME OUT
USC came out strong at the very start of this game as they went up by 11 early on. Even though the Nittany Lions tried to battle back at the end of the first half, they couldn't catch up to the Trojans as USC finished the game on top with a score of 92-67.

Chibuzo Agbo had a career night in the Galen Center as he made a career-high seven three-pointers. With that, he secured 21 points. Desmond Claude, Wesley Yates III and Josh Cohen all contributed double-digit points as Claude racked up 16, Yates snagged 13, and Cohen added on 12. Along with that, Claude secured eight assists while Cohen and Yates were tied with five rebounds each.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS

Minnesota is coming into this game on a low note as they lost three of their last four games. Currently, they are 12-12 on the season and 4-9 in Big Ten play. They are also 2-6 when playing away from home this year.
As a team, the Golden Gophers lead the Big Ten Conference in blocks per game, averaging 5.0 a game. However, Minnesota ranks last in the Big Ten in free throw percentage, which sits at 65.2 percent, and scoring offense as they only grab an average of 69.0 points per game.
Despite the lack of team scoring, senior forward Dawson Garcia is averaging 19.8 points per game this season - the highest mark of any Big Ten player. Garcia has recorded six double-doubles this season, which is good enough to put him in the Top 10 in the Big Ten. He has been the main driving force for Minnesota, as he ranks Top Five of all conference players in the following categories: field goal attempts (324), field goals made (162), free throw attempts (153), free throws made (115), minutes per game (34.7) and defensive rebounds (5.8).
Senior guard Lu'Cye Patterson is second on the Golden Gophers in scoring as he has contributed an average of 11.2 points per game so far in 2024-25. Patterson has been very successful as a passer this season as he leads the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.19). The Minneapolis native also leads the Golden Gophers in assists per game with 3.6, which also ranks in the Top 15 among all Big Ten players.
Senior guard Femi Odukale has been a defensive menace for Minnesota. The New Mexico State transfer averages 1.1 blocks per game, ranking second among all guards in the Big Ten. Furthermore, Odukale ranks in the Top 10 in the Big Ten in steals per game as he grabs an average of 1.4 a game.

AGBO'S ANTICS
Chibuzo Agbo has been an impact player for the Trojans. He is crucial from beyond the arc as he is tied for sixth in the Big Ten in three-pointers per game as he averages 2.2 per game. He is second on the team in points, averaging 11.9 per game. He is also coming off a career night as he made seven three-pointers for a team-high 21 points.

Throughout the season, Agbo's turnover percentage has sat at 10.9 percent. He has also been averaging 32.4 minutes per game and maintained an offensive rebounding percentage of 5.3 percent. All three of these stat lines put Agbo in the top 84 percent in the NCAA, according to CBB Analytics.

OFFENSE ON POINT
During this season, the Trojans have had eight different players lead the team in scoring. Only one other team in the Big Ten has had more players who have led the team in scoring, and that is Michigan State who has had nine different players lead their offense this season.

SHARPSHOOTERS
USC has maintained a 48.4 field goal percentage, which is in the Top 30 in the NCAA. According to CBB Analytics, this number is in the 94th percentile among other Division I programs. Along with that, the Trojans are shooting at 55.1 percent from two and have a true shooting percentage of 58.6 percent, which is in the 85th percentile or higher for these stat lines. USC is also thriving when it comes to the corner three as they are in the 100th percentile for made corner threes over the last five games.

WHEREABOUTS
Tip-off for this game between the Trojans and the Gophers will be at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 15, inside the Galen Center. For those who can't make it to Los Angeles, they can watch the game on the Big Ten Network or listen through ESPN LA 710.

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Josh Cohen

Wesley Yates III