USC Men's Basketball Will Wrap Up Midwest Roadtrip at No. 7 Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The USC Men's Basketball team (13-9, 5-6 Big Ten) will wrap up their last game of this road series in West Lafayette, Indiana, as they take on No. 7 Purdue. These two teams have not seen each other since 1988 when the Trojans lost by four in Honolulu to the Boilermakers.

LAST TIME OUT
USC came out strong, scoring the first two baskets of the game. However, Northwestern responded quickly, coming back quickly to take the lead that carried through most of the second half. It wasn't until the final two minutes that USC battled back, tying the game with 29 seconds left on the clock. Despite those efforts, USC could not secure the lead as they fell 77-75 to Northwestern.

Clark Slajchert had the best game for the Trojans in his first career start as he grabbed 24 points while shooting at 81.8 percent from the field. Wesley Yates III and Chibuzo Agbo also finished with double-digit points, contributing 15 and 14, respectively.

SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS

No. 7 Purdue is on a three-game winning streak with victories over No. 24 Michigan, Indiana and Iowa. Purdue is also 11-1 when playing at Mackey Arena in 2024-25 and has the second-best winning percentage in the Big Ten - only behind Michigan State.
The Boilermakers are one of the most efficient shooting teams in the country. The team is shooting 49.6 percent from the field, which ranks sixth in the NCAA. Along with that, Purdue is third in the Big Ten in effective field goal percentage (56.8 percent) and second in three-point field goal percentage (38.3 percent).
Junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn leads the Boilermakers on both sides of the ball, averaging 18.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-9 wing is also averaging 2.5 offensive rebounds per game - the fifth-highest mark in the Big Ten. He is shooting at 60.1 percent from the field while he is sixth in the NCAA in field goals with 173.
Junior guard Braden Smith has been leading his team by example on both ends of the floor. Smith is second in the NCAA in assists with 198 this season and is also seventh in the NCAA in steals with 58. The Indiana native also ranks in the top 10 in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9), double-doubles (8), field goal attempts (297), field goals (135), minutes per game (36:11), points per game (16.4), total points (378), three-point attempts (130), three-pointers per game (2.26) and total three-point field goals made (52).
Junior guard Fletcher Loyer has been a solid player for the Boilermakers. The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native has been a shooting threat - making two three-pointers per game. Averaging 13.8 points a night, Loyer is also shooting 85.7 percent from the free throw line this season - the eighth-highest mark in the Big Ten.

MINUTES ON MINUTES
When looking at the Big Ten rankings on KenPom for the percentage of minutes played, three USC players sit in fourth, sixth and seventh, and they are Saint Thomas, Chibuzo Agbo and Desmond Claude. Thomas comes in at fourth, playing in 85.5 percent of minutes, which increased as Thomas played in almost all 40 minutes in the last two games. Agbo is right behind him in sixth, sitting at 82.4 percent.

SHARING IS CARING
Individually, Saint Thomas and Desmond Claude have been a big part of the equation. Both Claude and Thomas rank in the Top 10 in the Big Ten in assists as Thomas is in eighth as he averages 4.3 per game and Claude is in 10th with 4.2 assists per game. Claude is also 11th in the Big Ten when it comes to assist rate, which is calculated by the number of assists a player has divided by the team's made field goals. Claude currently boasts a 24.9 assist rate. Thomas comes up close behind him with a 22.8 assist rate, the 15th-best in the Big Ten.

CONTROLLING THE BALL
One Trojan ranks in the Top 10 in the Big Ten when it comes to turnover percentage, and that is Chibuzo Agbo. His turnover percentage sits at 9.5 percent, which means he only turns the ball over 9.5 percent of the time.

WHEREABOUTS
The Trojans will face the Boilermakers on Friday, Feb. 6, with tip-off at 4 p.m. PT. For those who can't make it to West Lafayette, they can watch on FS1 or listen through the USC Game Day app.

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Players Mentioned

Chibuzo Agbo

Desmond Claude

Clark Slajchert

Saint Thomas

Wesley Yates III