The USC Trojans men’s basketball team is 12-8, 4-5 in Big Ten conference play. USC is coming off two straight home losses, trying to find ways to bring the energy. The Trojans will face the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans on Saturday. 

How to Watch:

The USC Trojans men’s basketball team will face the Michigan State Spartans at 1:30 p.m. PT on Saturday at Galen Center in Los Angeles, California. The game broadcast will be on Peacock.

Betting Odds:

USC vs. Michigan State preview:

The USC men’s basketball team has lost two in a row at Galen Center, and it is not about to get any easier on them. Most recently, USC lost against cross town rival, the UCLA Bruins, 82-76.

After the game, USC coach Eric Musselman voiced his frustrations about their record at home and overall struggles on the court that must be fixed.

“It’s hard to win a game when somebody shoots, you know, 15 of 22 from the field,” Musselman said. “There’s probably 30 other things that I could point out. First play of the game we didn’t react to a loose ball, Eric Dailey beat us to the loose ball and that’s just as important as any free throws and that was to start the game.”

There were struggles across the court for the Trojans. Wesley Yates III was the top player with 19 points and was to get USC within a score from UCLA. Yates was not the leading scorer though, forward Rashaun Agee came off the bench and scored 21 points. USC guard Desmond Claude had a down game, which Musselman touched on.

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“Missed foul shots tonight. Desmond [Claude], his play, because we rely on him and no one’s blaming any player. I mean, I would never do that but we needed somebody else to kind of step up tonight,” Musselman said.

Every player will have to step up if USC wants to put up a fight against the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans. Claude leads the Trojans averaging 16 points and 4.2 assists. Agee leads with 0.5 blocks and forward Saint Thomas with 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Every USC player will need to step up against Michigan State.

The Spartans are 18-2, 9-0 in Big Ten conference play. Michigan State is on a 13-game win streak and leads the Big Ten. The Spartans are coming off a 73-51 win against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. 

Michigan State is averaging 81.3 points this season, led in scoring by guard Jaden Akins with 13.6, while forward Jaxon Kohler leads with 7.6 rebounds. The last time the Spartans lost was on Nov. 26 against Memphis at the Maui Invitational. Their other loss came against the No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks.

USC and Michigan State have faced off twice in history, with the Spartans taking both wins. Both games have been on neutral courts. The last matchup between the two teams was in 2023 during the NCAA Tournament. 

USC vs. Michigan State prediction:

The USC Trojans will face another loss at home with the Michigan State Spartans winning, 82-74.

After USC’s game against the Spartans, the Trojans will face the 12-9 Northwestern Wildcats on the road on Feb. 4.