University Southern California Trojans
Saturday, October 17
La Jolla, Calif.
7:00 p.m. PT
USC
at
UC San Diego (Exhibition)
Photo by: Bryce Dechert
USC Makes First of Three Trips South to Play UC San Diego
October 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball
The Trojans’ second exhibition game will be their first-ever meeting against the Tritons.
SAN DIEGO — Traveling south to San Diego for the first of three trips this season, the USC Men's Basketball team will play UC San Diego in an exhibition game on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
The exhibition will be broadcasted on ESPN+, which requires a subscription. All pertinent links can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page on usctrojans.com.
USC is coming off an exhibition loss to North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. last week. Making his return to the court for the first time since last November, Rodney Rice led the Trojans with 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting with three made threes and five assists. Alijah Arenas chipped in 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting, while Darius Ratliff added 13 points.
Last week, all 11 available players for the Trojans logged minutes, while eight of them were making their debuts in a USC uniform.
SEE YOU IN SAN DIEGO
In a unique, but intentional scheduling move, USC is making its first of three trips down I-5 to play in the San Diego area this week. No other Power-4 team will visit the same city for non-conference contests three times this season.
The city of San Diego has extra importance for the Musselman family: Head Coach Eric Musselman played at the University of San Diego from 1983-87, Assistant Coach Michael Musselman graduated from USD in 2018 and his younger brother Matthew Musselman graduated in 2023.
Later this year, USC heads to San Diego State for an exhibition game on Oct. 23 and plays at USD on Dec. 8.
TOP 25 TROJANS
USC is faring well in many preseason polls. So far, USC has ranked well in most reputable preseason polls with 11 top-25 appearances, three of which are in the top-15. Among notable outlets, Trojans rank No. 11 in ESPN's rankings, No. 13 by Fox Sports, 15 by Jon Rothstein and No. 17 by Andy Katz.
KEEPING UP WITH KENPOM
The Trojans checked in at No. 36 in the preseason KenPom rankings, which were released Oct. 11. USC is expected to have a top-50 offense and defense — No. 41 in offense and No. 31 in defense — and finish eighth out of 18 teams in the Big Ten standings.
RICE EARNS PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Senior guard Rodney Rice made the 11-man Preseason All-Big Ten Team earlier this week. One of the most dynamic point guards in the conference, Last season, Rice averaged 20.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-high 6.0 assists in six games before a shoulder surgery cut his season short.
He is the first player under Head Coach Eric Musselman to earn all-conference preseason recognition.
TROJAN TRIO
Alijah Arenas, Jacob Cofie and Rodney Rice give Trojans a solid core of starters from the 2025-26 season. The trio accounts for 38.0% of the team's returning minutes, per BartTorvik.
While Cofie has played with both Arenas and Rice, this year will mark the first time the three of them will play together, as injuries to Arenas and Rice kept them off the floor together.
PORTAL PROWESS
Head Coach Eric Musselman continues to be one of the best transfer portal recruits in the nation. On3 ranked USC's seven-man transfer portal fourth in the nation, EvanMiya ranked it 10th and Fansided and 24/7Sports ranked the Trojans 21st and 24th, respectively. Individually, KJ Lewis, Eric Reibe and Jalen Cox attracted several high-major offers in the offseason.
THE FUTURE IS NOW
USC's 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 7 in ESPN's rankings, which is the best ranking USC has had under Eric Musselman. Christian Collins (No. 6, per ESPN), Adonis Ratliff (No. 23) and Darius Ratliff (No. 33) were all McDonald's All-Americans.
WE'RE LOVING IT
USC leads the nation with five former McDonald's All-Americans on the roster: Alijah Arenas, Christian Collins, Adonis and Darius Ratliff, plus Eric Reibe. Duke and Michigan have three apiece, while Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and UConn have two.
SEEING DOUBLE
Adonis and Darius Ratliff make USC one of seven teams in the nation with a set of twins on the roster. They are also the second set of twins Eric Musselman has coached, joining NBA players Caleb and Cody Martin during Musselman's time at Nevada from 2017-19.
BOUNCE BACK
Andy Katz named USC the No. 1 bounce-back team in the nation for the 2026-27 season. Historically, the numbers back it up: Throughout his stops at Nevada and Arkansas, Coach Eric Musselman surpassed the previous season's win total in each of his first three seasons.
The exhibition will be broadcasted on ESPN+, which requires a subscription. All pertinent links can be found on the men's basketball team's schedule page on usctrojans.com.
USC is coming off an exhibition loss to North Carolina in Greensboro, N.C. last week. Making his return to the court for the first time since last November, Rodney Rice led the Trojans with 22 points on 7-for-15 shooting with three made threes and five assists. Alijah Arenas chipped in 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting, while Darius Ratliff added 13 points.
Last week, all 11 available players for the Trojans logged minutes, while eight of them were making their debuts in a USC uniform.
SEE YOU IN SAN DIEGO
In a unique, but intentional scheduling move, USC is making its first of three trips down I-5 to play in the San Diego area this week. No other Power-4 team will visit the same city for non-conference contests three times this season.
The city of San Diego has extra importance for the Musselman family: Head Coach Eric Musselman played at the University of San Diego from 1983-87, Assistant Coach Michael Musselman graduated from USD in 2018 and his younger brother Matthew Musselman graduated in 2023.
Later this year, USC heads to San Diego State for an exhibition game on Oct. 23 and plays at USD on Dec. 8.
TOP 25 TROJANS
USC is faring well in many preseason polls. So far, USC has ranked well in most reputable preseason polls with 11 top-25 appearances, three of which are in the top-15. Among notable outlets, Trojans rank No. 11 in ESPN's rankings, No. 13 by Fox Sports, 15 by Jon Rothstein and No. 17 by Andy Katz.
KEEPING UP WITH KENPOM
The Trojans checked in at No. 36 in the preseason KenPom rankings, which were released Oct. 11. USC is expected to have a top-50 offense and defense — No. 41 in offense and No. 31 in defense — and finish eighth out of 18 teams in the Big Ten standings.
RICE EARNS PRESEASON RECOGNITION
Senior guard Rodney Rice made the 11-man Preseason All-Big Ten Team earlier this week. One of the most dynamic point guards in the conference, Last season, Rice averaged 20.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-high 6.0 assists in six games before a shoulder surgery cut his season short.
He is the first player under Head Coach Eric Musselman to earn all-conference preseason recognition.
TROJAN TRIO
Alijah Arenas, Jacob Cofie and Rodney Rice give Trojans a solid core of starters from the 2025-26 season. The trio accounts for 38.0% of the team's returning minutes, per BartTorvik.
While Cofie has played with both Arenas and Rice, this year will mark the first time the three of them will play together, as injuries to Arenas and Rice kept them off the floor together.
PORTAL PROWESS
Head Coach Eric Musselman continues to be one of the best transfer portal recruits in the nation. On3 ranked USC's seven-man transfer portal fourth in the nation, EvanMiya ranked it 10th and Fansided and 24/7Sports ranked the Trojans 21st and 24th, respectively. Individually, KJ Lewis, Eric Reibe and Jalen Cox attracted several high-major offers in the offseason.
THE FUTURE IS NOW
USC's 2026 recruiting class ranks No. 7 in ESPN's rankings, which is the best ranking USC has had under Eric Musselman. Christian Collins (No. 6, per ESPN), Adonis Ratliff (No. 23) and Darius Ratliff (No. 33) were all McDonald's All-Americans.
WE'RE LOVING IT
USC leads the nation with five former McDonald's All-Americans on the roster: Alijah Arenas, Christian Collins, Adonis and Darius Ratliff, plus Eric Reibe. Duke and Michigan have three apiece, while Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and UConn have two.
SEEING DOUBLE
Adonis and Darius Ratliff make USC one of seven teams in the nation with a set of twins on the roster. They are also the second set of twins Eric Musselman has coached, joining NBA players Caleb and Cody Martin during Musselman's time at Nevada from 2017-19.
BOUNCE BACK
Andy Katz named USC the No. 1 bounce-back team in the nation for the 2026-27 season. Historically, the numbers back it up: Throughout his stops at Nevada and Arkansas, Coach Eric Musselman surpassed the previous season's win total in each of his first three seasons.
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