University Southern California Trojans
Photo by: John McGillen
For USC Men’s Basketball, San Diego Connections Run Deep
October 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball
The team’s three road games in the San Diego area have extra importance for the Trojans’ coaching staff.
LOS ANGELES — By the time the nonconference season ends, the USC Men's Basketball team will be very accustomed to playing in San Diego.
This Saturday, the Trojans will play an exhibition game at UC San Diego for the team's first of three road games to the San Diego area. While playing road exhibition games isn't novel to the Trojans, the fact that a Power-4 team willingly scheduled three road games at non-Power-4 schools in the same city is.
Call it a coincidence. Call it geographic luck. Call it a testament to California's strong college basketball scene. Yet the connections between the USC Men's Basketball team and the city of San Diego run deeper than those factors.
Head Coach Eric Musselman and Assistant Coach Michael Musselman have extensive ties to the San Diego area. Both men attended the University of San Diego — which USC will visit for a nationally televised game on Dec. 8 — and spent their formative coaching and playing years in the city. Eric played for USD and made the NCAA Tournament twice when he was a Torero, while his sons, Michael and Matthew, started their coaching careers as student managers at USD.
For the team, the chance to play in a major metropolitan city with passionate sports fans in three different road environments will be invaluable.
"San Diego has an underrated but great sports culture," Assistant Coach Michael Musselman said. "The Padres draw really well and when they're in the playoffs, Petco Park is popping like nowhere else in the country. The Chargers were beloved down there. To be able to play a hometown game and give back, in a way, to the San Diego sports culture we've been part of is super special."
USC's game at UC San Diego this Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Ever since UCSD moved up to Division I in 2021, the Tritons have contended for Big West titles. Two seasons ago, UCSD made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Although former Head Coach Eric Olen moved to New Mexico, longtime Associate Head Coach Clint Allard has kept momentum going.
"UCSD is really well coached, they're disciplined and they're a team that can win their league," Eric Musselman said. "With so many new guys, we wanted to play three road games so that everybody gets a feel for what the expectations are for road games."
The UC San Diego game will also give USC an opportunity to face an opponent playing a different style of basketball. While the Trojans squared off with a big, physical Power-4 team in their first exhibition against North Carolina, the Tritons offer a different challenge with a smaller, more positionless team with plenty of good shooters.
"UC San Diego gives us a different look than North Carolina," Michael Musselman said. "UC San Diego has four shooters on the floor at all times. Seeing a different profile, from a personnel perspective, will be helpful. With these San Diego games, we're playing three well-coached teams that have had a ton of success in the last five years."
USC's second trip to San Diego for an exhibition game on Oct. 23 against San Diego State will revive a coaching matchup from Eric Musselman's days in the Mountain West. Eric Musselman's Nevada Wolf Pack teams played many memorable, high-intensity games against San Diego State Head Coach Brian Dutcher's teams in Mountain West play. But the relationship between Musselman and Dutcher goes further back than that.
"Our relationship goes all the way back to when my dad coached at the University of Minnesota, Dutcher's dad replaced him," Eric Musselman said. "We've had a relationship for a long time. But the reason to play San Diego State is we've played their teams when I was at Nevada. They play physical defensively and they're always a tournament-caliber team."
Yet if there's one constant between the two exhibition games in San Diego and the Trojans' regular-season trip to the University of San Diego, it'll be the Trojan fan presence.
There will be plenty of cardinal and gold in the stands in all three games. Eric Musselman's mother, Kris Musselman Platt, lives in La Jolla and will bring several of her friends to watch each game. Throw in Eric Musselman's college teammates and USC's strong alumni base, and Trojan fans will be well-represented at the RIMAC Arena crowd on Saturday night.
"I think it's awesome," Michael Musselman said. "Coach Muss is pretty much from San Diego, and although he went to high school in Ohio, San Diego is where he claims his home. So for him to be able to go back home and play in front of a hometown crowd and in front of his mom is super special. He's got a ton of friends and college teammates that still live down there."
"It's a huge added bonus that my mom can see us play three times," Eric Musselman added. "I'll probably bring the staff over to her house, and if we have time, I'll probably take the team to where I grew up playing on an outdoor court at the La Jolla Recreational Center. On one of the three trips, we'll do that for sure."
USC's exhibition game on Saturday tips off at 7:00 p.m. PT and will be livestreamed on ESPN+. All pertinent information can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page on usctrojans.com.
This Saturday, the Trojans will play an exhibition game at UC San Diego for the team's first of three road games to the San Diego area. While playing road exhibition games isn't novel to the Trojans, the fact that a Power-4 team willingly scheduled three road games at non-Power-4 schools in the same city is.
Call it a coincidence. Call it geographic luck. Call it a testament to California's strong college basketball scene. Yet the connections between the USC Men's Basketball team and the city of San Diego run deeper than those factors.
Head Coach Eric Musselman and Assistant Coach Michael Musselman have extensive ties to the San Diego area. Both men attended the University of San Diego — which USC will visit for a nationally televised game on Dec. 8 — and spent their formative coaching and playing years in the city. Eric played for USD and made the NCAA Tournament twice when he was a Torero, while his sons, Michael and Matthew, started their coaching careers as student managers at USD.
For the team, the chance to play in a major metropolitan city with passionate sports fans in three different road environments will be invaluable.
"San Diego has an underrated but great sports culture," Assistant Coach Michael Musselman said. "The Padres draw really well and when they're in the playoffs, Petco Park is popping like nowhere else in the country. The Chargers were beloved down there. To be able to play a hometown game and give back, in a way, to the San Diego sports culture we've been part of is super special."
USC's game at UC San Diego this Saturday will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. Ever since UCSD moved up to Division I in 2021, the Tritons have contended for Big West titles. Two seasons ago, UCSD made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Although former Head Coach Eric Olen moved to New Mexico, longtime Associate Head Coach Clint Allard has kept momentum going.
"UCSD is really well coached, they're disciplined and they're a team that can win their league," Eric Musselman said. "With so many new guys, we wanted to play three road games so that everybody gets a feel for what the expectations are for road games."
The UC San Diego game will also give USC an opportunity to face an opponent playing a different style of basketball. While the Trojans squared off with a big, physical Power-4 team in their first exhibition against North Carolina, the Tritons offer a different challenge with a smaller, more positionless team with plenty of good shooters.
"UC San Diego gives us a different look than North Carolina," Michael Musselman said. "UC San Diego has four shooters on the floor at all times. Seeing a different profile, from a personnel perspective, will be helpful. With these San Diego games, we're playing three well-coached teams that have had a ton of success in the last five years."
USC's second trip to San Diego for an exhibition game on Oct. 23 against San Diego State will revive a coaching matchup from Eric Musselman's days in the Mountain West. Eric Musselman's Nevada Wolf Pack teams played many memorable, high-intensity games against San Diego State Head Coach Brian Dutcher's teams in Mountain West play. But the relationship between Musselman and Dutcher goes further back than that.
"Our relationship goes all the way back to when my dad coached at the University of Minnesota, Dutcher's dad replaced him," Eric Musselman said. "We've had a relationship for a long time. But the reason to play San Diego State is we've played their teams when I was at Nevada. They play physical defensively and they're always a tournament-caliber team."
Yet if there's one constant between the two exhibition games in San Diego and the Trojans' regular-season trip to the University of San Diego, it'll be the Trojan fan presence.
There will be plenty of cardinal and gold in the stands in all three games. Eric Musselman's mother, Kris Musselman Platt, lives in La Jolla and will bring several of her friends to watch each game. Throw in Eric Musselman's college teammates and USC's strong alumni base, and Trojan fans will be well-represented at the RIMAC Arena crowd on Saturday night.
"I think it's awesome," Michael Musselman said. "Coach Muss is pretty much from San Diego, and although he went to high school in Ohio, San Diego is where he claims his home. So for him to be able to go back home and play in front of a hometown crowd and in front of his mom is super special. He's got a ton of friends and college teammates that still live down there."
"It's a huge added bonus that my mom can see us play three times," Eric Musselman added. "I'll probably bring the staff over to her house, and if we have time, I'll probably take the team to where I grew up playing on an outdoor court at the La Jolla Recreational Center. On one of the three trips, we'll do that for sure."
USC's exhibition game on Saturday tips off at 7:00 p.m. PT and will be livestreamed on ESPN+. All pertinent information can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page on usctrojans.com.
Saturday, October 10
Thursday, October 08
Wednesday, September 16
Monday, June 22
