EAST LANSING— The rolling No. 7 Michigan State Spartans are heading out West to take on their new Big Ten foe the Southern California Trojans on Saturday.
MSU is still riding high on its win streak after defeating Minnesota on Tuesday 73-51, marking head coach Tom Izzo’s 352nd B1G win. Tuesday’s win puts Izzo two conference wins away from surpassing the winningest Big Ten coach, and former Indiana head coach, Bob Knight’s record of 353.
The Spartans have now won 13-straight and are 9-0 in B1G play. They haven’t lost since Thanksgiving, making them undefeated in the months of December and January for the first time ever in program history.
On Tuesday, MSU won the rebound battle 40-22. 13 of the 40 rebounds were offensive rebounds and the Spartans scored 13 second-chance points against the Golden Gophers. Minnesota was outperformed by MSU in the paint by 10 points, 30-20.
Junior guard Tre Holloman was a key figure for the Spartans against the Gophers. Holloman led MSU with 12 points and recorded three assists, two rebounds and one steal.
Senior guard Jaden Akins and sophomore forward Xavier Booker also put up double-figures with 10 points apiece.
The Spartans shot 44.6% in the field, 32% from behind the arc and 75% from the free throw line against the Gophers. They also recorded nine turnovers, seven steals and six blocks.
MSU and USC have met twice before, but only in March. The last meeting between the two teams was during the 2023 NCAA Tournament in the Round of 64 where the Spartans took down the Trojans 72-62. They also met in 2009 in the Round of 32 which the Spartans also claimed victory, 74-69.
Scouting USC
USC stands 12-8 on the season and 4-5 in conference play. Notably, the Trojans upset then-No. 13 Illinois, in Champaign, Illinois, 82-72 on Jan. 11.
As of late, USC lost to UCLA 82-76 on Monday evening. The Trojans were outperformed in scoring by the Bruins. UCLA shot 54.9% from the field, 37.5% from behind the arc and 80% from the free throw line. Comparatively, USC shot 49.1% from the field, 35.5% from behind the arc and 57.9% from the free throw line.
The Trojans were led by graduate forward Rashaun Agee with 21 points, redshirt freshman guard Wesley Yates III with 19 points, senior forward Saint Thomas with 13 points and junior guard Desmond Claude with 12 points.
There are five USC players averaging double-digits per game. As a team on the season, the Trojans are shooting 48.2% from the field, 34.8% from behind the arc and 73.7% from the free throw line. They are also averaging 32.1 rebounds per game, 16 assists per game, 11.6 turnovers per game, 6.5 steals per game and 2.7 blocks per game.
MSU and USC are set to go head-to-head on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on Peacock.
