USC Men's Basketball Outlasts Minnesota 70-69 In Overtime

Friday, January 9

Minneapolis, Minn.

5:30 p.m.

USC

13-3,2-3Big Ten

Minnesota

10-6,3-2Big Ten

OT 1

Southern California

Minnesota

USC Men's Basketball Outlasts Minnesota 70-69 In Overtime

January 09, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

Chad Baker-Mazara finished with 29 points, including the go-ahead free throws

MINNEAPOLIS — It took every ounce of grit and determination, but the USC Men's Basketball team (13-3, 2-3 Big Ten) prevailed in a 70-69 overtime win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-6, 3-2 Big Ten) in Williams Arena on Friday night.

Chad Baker-Mazara sealed the win by making two free throws with 10.9 seconds left. The senior wing finished with a game-high 29 points and a career-high eight assists. Fellow upperclassman Ezra Ausar, who had two points and a pivotal block in overtime, finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Jacob Cofie and Gabe Dynes finished with nine points apiece.

Head Coach Eric Musselman's squad not only earned the program's first win in Minneapolis but also gave Musselman his first victory in the building where his father, Bill, coached from 1971-75. Friday night was also the Trojans' fourth one-possession win — a figure that leads the Big Ten.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Kicking off the game with a flurry of threes and short possessions, the Trojans kept pace with the Golden Gophers thanks to five early points from Chad Baker-Mazara, who appeared to find his shooting stroke. After scoring just four points in the previous game against Michigan State, Baker-Mazara scored five points in the first three minutes. Ezra Ausar found his rhythm early, too: the senior forward drew a foul on a fast-break dunk and converted the three-point play in the first two minutes.

Taking advantage of playing against a thinner Minnesota roster, the Trojans went to their bench early. Gabe Dynes subbed in and quickly made two dunks, the second of which pulled USC within one, 12-11, with 15:52 to go. USC would regain the lead on a three from Baker-Mazara — who reached double-figures in just 6 minutes and 8 seconds — but Minnesota responded with a three of its own.

Despite the torrid pace of the game, both teams went 4 minutes and 56 seconds without scoring. Turnovers plagued both teams. However, Ausar snapped the scoreless drought and made a left-handed layup through contact, but couldn't finish the three-point play. Two possessions later, Baker-Mazara made three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt, which sparked a 12-3 USC run that put the Trojans up 32-29.

As USC entered the locker room with a 35-30 lead at halftime, Ausar and Baker-Mazara had 24 of the Trojans' 35 points.

Baker-Mazara didn't slow down in the second half. The senior wing scored USC's first six points of the second half, punctuated by picking off a pass and finishing an uncontested dunk that made it a 41-30 ballgame just 54 seconds into the second half.

However, Minnesota would claw back into the game and pull within five points of USC while the Trojans' offense stalled. Up 43-38 with the shot clock expiring, Kam Woods launched a three from well beyond the arc that was too strong. As the ball sailed towards the USC bench, Dynes bolted towards the sideline, used the entirety of his 7-foot-5 frame to save the ball, and whipped the ball back to Woods at the left wing. Woods then drove to the basket and made a layup through traffic to snap the scoring drought.

USC took a 48-38 lead when Baker-Mazara launched a deep, fadeaway three to beat the shot clock. The Trojans would lead by as many as a dozen off a Ryan Cornish layup midway through the half.

But the Golden Gophers made a push. The latter stages of the game were incredibly physical. While Minnesota's defense made the Trojans work for every point inside, its offense chipped away at USC's lead with threes and transition baskets.

Clinging to a 62-56 lead with three minutes to go, USC's offense went cold. Minnesota went on a 7-0 run to take a 63-62 lead with 45 seconds remaining. Dynes was fouled on the next possession and split the free throws, then both teams came up empty on their final possessions to head to overtime.

Jaden Brownell made key plays on both ends of the floor to start overtime: first by making a three and then by blocking a shot attempt on the next possession. But USC's lead was short-lived. Minnesota made two threes to take a 69-68 lead with 27 seconds to go.

On USC's final possession, Woods got the ball to Baker-Mazara, who gradually made his way to the arc before driving to the basket. He lost his footing and got fouled with 10.9 seconds to go, then made the front end of the one-and-one to tie the game. The 90.9% free-throw shooter made the second, then the USC defense held on for the 70-69 win.

NOTABLES

Chad Baker-Mazara contributed 16 first-half points — his second-most first-half points this season — against the Gophers. He went on to finish with 29 points, which is the eighth time this season that he concluded a game with at least 20 points. To top it all off, Baker-Mazara also set his career high with eight assists.
Ezra Ausar finished with 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds while adding two steals and a block.
Gabe Dynes provided a spark off the bench with nine points, six rebounds, two blocks and two assists. His free throw with 33 seconds left sent the game to overtime.
Jacob Cofie finished with nine points and five rebounds, giving him 250 career rebounds.
Making his first start as a Trojan, Kam Woods finished with four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Trojans outrebounded the Golden Gophers 42-33. USC has yet to lose a game while winning the rebounding battle.
Friday night gave USC its Big Ten-leading fourth win by one possession and its second overtime victory of the year. USC now has a 57-57 all-time record in single-overtime games.
USC is now 3-5 all-time against Minnesota and Coach Musselman is now 1-1 against the Golden Gophers.
USC rolled out a new starting lineup featuring Kam Woods, Ryan Cornish, Chad Baker-Mazara, Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar. This lineup is now 1-0 on the season.

QUOTABLES
Coach Eric Musselman on winning the rebounding battle…
"The rebounding battle was super important for us. The turnovers are still a problem; we've got to do a better job taking care of the ball. But I loved our activity on the offensive glass with 15 offensive rebounds."

Coach Eric Musselman on Chad Baker-Mazara…
"He was great. He was 4-for-10 from three, hit two big free throws and was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. He finished with 29 points, but his eight assists were more important for us."

Coach Eric Musselman on Gabe Dynes' defense…
"I thought Gabe Dynes was phenomenal for us, taking away interior passes. We played goalie where he kind of patrolled the paint, and I thought he did a phenomenal job with that scheme in the first half."

Coach Eric Musselman on Kam Woods…
"He's a true point guard. He's gritty, he's tough and he adds a competitive nature to our team. Probably the biggest decision we made was putting Kam Woods towards the end on Cade Tyson, and he did a great job. Any time you can put your point guard on their four-man who's leading the league in scoring and shut him down big-time."

Coach Eric Musselman on how the road trip affects the future…
"This was a game we had to have. If we lost this game, we would've gone 0-3, and things aren't looking good. Now, on our NCAA Tournament resume, we got a big win tonight. We lost at Michigan and Michigan State, but a lot of teams are going to have a hard time doing that. But now we've got our legs underneath us, and hopefully we have some good news with Alijah Arenas coming back."

UP NEXT
The Trojans return to the Galen Center for their first home game in 2026 against Maryland on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Fans can follow along by watching on FS1 or listening through the USC Trojans Game Day app.