USC Men's Basketball Falters In Second Half As They Drop A Home Contest To Minnesota

Saturday, February 15

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

USC

14-11,6-8Big Ten

Minnesota

13-12,5-9Big Ten

Minnesota

Southern California

USC Men's Basketball Falters In Second Half As They Drop A Home Contest To Minnesota

February 15, 2025 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Post Game Press Conference

Chibuzo Agbo and Wesley Yates III led the scoring for the Trojans against the Gophers on Saturday.

LOS ANGELES – The USC Men's Basketball team (14-11, 6-8 Big Ten) wrapped up a two-game stretch here in the Galen Center as they took on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This game was a grind for both teams, but in the end, the visitors came out on top as USC fell 69-66 to Minnesota.

HOW IT HAPPENED
USC had a hot start thanks to Desmond Claude's back-to-back three-pointers, giving USC the early six-point lead. The Trojans continued from there as USC added on another basket before Minnesota could even get on the board. From there, the Gophers kept the Trojans from scoring for over three minutes until Claude made yet another basket to put his team back on the board. With the help from Chibuzo Agbo scoring seven points in a minute, the Trojans started to pull away from the Gophers as they went up by 14 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Trojans didn't stop there. When the Gophers tried to make a comeback, USC responded with three straight baskets, keeping their lead at 14. The Gophers did what they could to close the gap between them and the Trojans. Even with that, USC kept the lead at the half as the score sat at 38-31.

The Trojans did not come out strong in the second half as Minnesota chipped away at the lead yet again. By the time the clock hit 12 minutes, the Gophers were within five of the Trojans. Minnesota made a move yet again. The Gophers kept USC from scoring for more than three minutes while they went on a nine-point run as they took the lead with seven minutes left in the game. Thanks to back-to-back baskets from Rashaun Agee, the Trojans broke the drought and worked to regain the lead. USC tied it up with Minnesota with five minutes left to go, turning this into a gritty battle between the Gophers and the Trojans. This game came down to the final four seconds. Even though USC tried to pull off a play, it wasn't enough as the Trojans dropped this Big Ten game 69-66 to the Gophers.

NOTABLES

In his 100th career start, Josh Cohen scored his 1,800th career points. He finished the game with four points on 2-2 shooting and 4 rebounds.
The Trojans started the game on an 8-0 run, holding Minnesota scoreless until the 15:49 mark in the first half.
Three Trojans scored in the double-digits against Minnesota: Wesley Yates III (18), Chibuzo Agbo (18), and Desmond Claude (12).
Desmond Claude recorded back-to-back three-pointers to open the game. He finished with 12 points, five assists and a rebound.
The Trojans tied their season-high for blocks in a game with seven. Rashaun Agee led the team with three followed by Saint Thomas with two. Both Yates and Agbo each had one.
Wesley Yates III played his 25th career game today. He finished with 18 points and three rebounds.
Both Rashaun Agee and Desmond Claude had dunks in the second half.
The Trojans held Minnesota's leading scorer Dawson Garcia to just seven points Saturday. Dawson was averaging 19.8 points per game before the match-up.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on the second-half offense…
"I think the game is a game of runs and a game of rhythm with everything. We had a lot of scorers offensively, but we didn't get as many quality looks as we did during the first half."

Coach Eric Musselman on bouncing back from close losses…
"It's devastating, but you continue to get better. Even when we lose, this team does play hard. We led for 36 minutes of the game."

Coach Eric Musselman on the team's defensive performance…
"The philosophy that I have always had is to try to contain and shut down their star. We did that. It's probably the best game that we could have played guarding their best player, who averages 19 points a game."

Chibuzo Agbo on the end-of-game sequence…
"I had a few late turnovers. Everybody is going to look back and say, 'That's where I could have been better.' That's what we do as individuals. It's hard to swallow, but we have to turn the page onto the next one."

Chibuzo Agbo on how he improved his shooting efficiency…
"I really got back to the fundamentals of my shot. I can tend to be aggressive at times when my shot starts to go in. So I've just let the game come to me when it feels good and fed off of my teammates."

UP NEXT
The Trojans will make the trip to the East Coast as they begin their two-game road trip at the University of Maryland. Tip-off in College Park will be at 5:30 p.m. PT. This game will be on FS1 for those who can't make it to Maryland. Fans can also listen through the USC Game Day app.