Men's Basketball | November 13, 2023

The No. 16 USC Trojans (2-0) will host the UC Irvine Anteaters (1-1) at the Galen Center on Nov. 14 at 8 p.m.  The game will air on the Pac-12 Network with J.B. Long and Mike Montgomery calling the action. USC has scored 80 or more points in its first two games for the first time since the 2016 season when it scored over 80 points in its first four games.

A LOOK AT LAST YEAR -- The Trojans went 22-11 during the 2022-23 season, including a 14-6 record in Pac-12 play which tied for second in the conference.  USC also advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season.  It was the Trojans' fourth consecutive 20-win season, a school record for back-to-back 20-win seasons.  The Trojans return leading scorer and All-Pac-12 guard Boogie Ellis and have added the No. 4 ranked recruiting class in the country, which includes the consensus No. 1 overall player, guard Isaiah Collier.  

ELLIS NAMED SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN -- USC guard Boogie Ellis was named to the Sporting News five-man Preseason All-America Team on Nov. 13.  Joining Ellis are Zach Edey (Purdue), Kyle Filipowski (Duke), Graham Ike (Gonzaga) and Tyler Kolek (Marquette).

USC'S STELLAR STRETCH -- USC won a school-record 95 games over the last four seasons (22 in 2020, 25 in 2021, 26 in 2022 and 22 in 2023). The four consecutive seasons of 20+ wins sets a school record for most consecutive 20-win seasons, breaking the mark of three consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins from 2016-18.  

WINNING WAYS -- USC's 95 total wins the last four seasons tied for sixth-most among all Power 6 basketball programs, trailing only Kansas (111), Baylor (104), Arizona (99), UCLA (99) and Duke (97).  Also, USC's 182 wins the last eight seasons ranks tied for 14th among all Power 6 conference teams.

FACING UC IRVINE -- The UC Irvine Anteaters (1-1) are coming off a 91-74 home win vs. New Mexico State on Nov. 11.  Devin Tillis leads UCI with averages of 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. USC is 8-2 all-time against UC Irvine, winning the last meeting 66-61 on Dec. 15, 2021 at the Galen Center.

BROWN ON DECK -- USC will host the Brown Bears (0-2) from Providence, R.I. at the Galen Center on Nov. 19 at 5 p.m.  Brown opened with a pair of two-point losses, falling 72-70 at Colgate on Nov. 6 and then 77-75 in overtime to Loyola (MD) at home on Nov. 11.  Brown will play at New Hampshire on Nov. 14 and host Rhode Island College on Nov. 16 before facing USC.  Guard Kino Lilly Jr. leads Brown with a 24.0 scoring average.  This is the first-ever meeting in basketball between USC and Brown.

USC FIRST TO BRING IN BOTH MEN'S & WOMEN'S TOP RECRUIT -- Isaiah Collier was the consensus No. 1 men's basketball recruit for 2023 and JuJu Watkins the No. 1 women's recruit for 2023.  It marks the first time that the top recruit on the men's and women's sides both selected to attend the same school in the same season.  Also, both the USC men's and women's team were ranked No. 21 in the AP preseason poll, the first time both teams have been ranked in the AP preseason top 25.  Both athletes had dynamic debuts with Collier scoring 18 points with 6 assists in USC's win over 2023 Elite Eight team Kansas State and Watkins pouring in 32 points in the Trojan women's win over No. 7 Ohio State.  Through two games, Collier has scored 37 points and Watkins 50.

ENFIELD MOVING UP THE USC ALL-TIME COACHING WINS LIST -- USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 11th season at USC and has compiled an 207-129 record. He picked up his 200th win on Feb. 4, 2023 vs. Washington.  Enfield's win total ranks fourth on USC's all-time wins list, trailing only Sam Barry (260), Forrest Twogood (251) and Bob Boyd (216).  Including his two seasons as the head coach at FGCU (2012-13), Enfield has compiled a 248-157 record.

IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE -- USC held Kansas State to 31.0 percent shooting in the opener on Nov. 6.  USC held its opponent to under 40 percent shooting in 19 of its 33 games in the 2022-23 season.  Through the first two games this season, USC has held its opponents to 35.9 percent shooting.   USC held its opponents to a 39.3 shooting percentage last season, 8th in the country.  Over the last four seasons, USC's defense has held the opposition to 38.9 FG percentage, third in the country, tops among teams in the six basketball power conferences.   Only two times last season did an opponent shoot over 50 percent in a game.  Also over the last four seasons, USC has held the opposition to a 42.4 shooting percentage on two-point field goals, best in the country.

GALEN REFRESH -- The Galen Center, which opened for the 2006-07 season, recently experienced the completion of phase one of a multi-phase enhancement to the arena.  Among the upgrades include new championships banners recognizing the accomplishments for all four sports which compete in the arena, new signature branding on the north arena wall celebrating the "Fight On!" mantra, a renovated Hall of Champions including two large LED screens with dynamic content highlighting the basketball and volleyball programs, upgraded concession stands,
new graphics and branding throughout the arena, a renovated Founders Room, the largest premium hospitality space in Galen, the addition of a new premium lounge space near the court and an updated media room and postgame media conference room.