USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Road Trip At Ohio State

Wednesday, February 11

Columbus, Ohio

3:30 p.m.

USC

Ohio State

Gabe Dynes blocks a shot against Penn State

USC Men's Basketball Wraps Up Road Trip At Ohio State

February 10, 2026 | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

The Trojans will face the Buckeyes on the road for the first time since 1997.

COLUMBUS — USC Men's Basketball (18-6, 7-6 Big Ten) will face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten) on Wednesday, Feb. 11, in Columbus. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series 5-3, winning the last matchup 87-82 on Feb. 26, 2025.

WHEREABOUTS
Game #25 at Ohio State
Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. PT
Jerome Schottenstein Center | Columbus, Ohio
TV: BTN

LAST TIME OUT
USC Men's Basketball took down Penn State 77-75 with a game-winning hook shot from Alijah Arenas. His shot off the glass sealed the victory with 0.7 seconds left, marking the seventh one-possession game that the Trojans have won. USC clawed back from a second-half 12-point deficit and would win its fifth road Big Ten game.

Arenas posted a team-high 24 points, with 11 ticks coming in the last four minutes alone. Kam Woods logged a season-high nine assists, while Ezra Ausar's 13 points extended his double-figure scoring streak to 15 games.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

Tallying 19.2 points per outing, Bruce Thornton is Ohio State's leading scorer and is sixth on the school's all-time scoring list. He's ranked second in the Big Ten Conference for field goals made (6.8) and has recorded double-digits in every game except one (9 points vs. Penn State on Jan. 26). Thornton also leads the team in assists (83) and steals (28).
John Mobley Jr. shoots a team-best .405 mark beyond the arc and posts the highest free throw percentage for the Buckeyes. His six career-high three-pointers lifted Ohio State to an 86-74 victory over UCLA on Jan. 17.
Two other Buckeyes average double figures. Devin Royal has three double-doubles on the season, and Christoph Tilly's seven field goals contributed to Ohio State's most recent win over Maryland on Feb. 5.
In all of Ohio State's conference wins, the team has outscored its opponent in the paint. The Buckeyes primarily rely on their interior and the ability to beat their opponents downhill.
Heading into Wednesday's matchup, both the Buckeyes and the Trojans average 81.3 points per game (tied for fifth in the Big Ten). They're also tied in conference standings.
Ohio State is coming off an 82-61 loss to No. 2 Michigan on Feb. 8, where Thornton paced the Buckeyes with 16 points and six rebounds.
The program is led by Jake Diebler, who is in his second year leading the team.

ROAD WARRIORS
USC has racked up frequent flyer miles with its road schedule this season. After this road trip to Penn State and Ohio State, the Trojans will have logged 18,539.8 flight miles across nine states.

Additionally, USC is the only Big Ten and Power-4 team to take a three-game road trip in conference play this season. The Trojans embarked on a 10-day swing to take on Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota to begin the new year.

Despite the travel, USC has been racking up road wins this season. The Trojans are 9-3 away from the Galen Center, and their nine road and neutral site wins are tied with Nebraska for the second-most in the Big Ten (Michigan leads the way with 11). Those nine wins away from home are also tied for the 12th-most in the NCAA.

UNDER PRESSURE
USC is 7-1 in one-possession games and 2-0 in overtime games. The Trojans lead the Big Ten in one-possession wins, topping Nebraska, which has four, and Rutgers, which has three. USC also leads all Power Four schools with 12 games decided by two possessions or fewer.