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Oregon State Basketball: Opponent Preview - USC Trojans (Game 12)

The Beavers stunned Arizona State. Can they double up against USC?

By The_Coach
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 16 Washington State at USC Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

USC Trojans (11-2, 5-1)

  • Head Coach: Andy Enfield (8th Season, Overall: 143–104)
  • Points For: 78.3 PPG (75th)
  • Points Against: 64.9 PPG (57th)
  • Last Game/Streak: 85-77 Win vs. Washington State (6W)

The Skinny

Washington State v USC
USC’s Tahj Eaddy.
Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images
  • Evan Mobley (16.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG)
  • Tahj Eaddy (12.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG)
  • Drew Peterson (11.0 PPG, 5.9 RPG)
  • Isaiah Mobley (10.2 PPG, 7.3 RPG)
  • Isaiah White (8.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG)
  • Chevez Goodwin (6.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG)
  • Noah Baumann (5.1 PPG, 1.4 RPG)
  • Ethan Anderson (4.6 PPG, 2.2 APG)

The Trojans head into Tuesday’s adjusted tilt on a six-game winning streak and surging towards the top of the Pac-12, knocking on the door of their rivals in UCLA. The good news for the Beavers is that they come into this one fresh off their own surprise victory over Arizona State, but it hasn’t exactly been as clean of a go for Oregon State.

Obviously, USC’s head of the snake is Evan Mobley, the projected lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, who we recently named our Mid-Season Pac-12 Player of the Year. He’s an athletic, stat-stuffing talent who is hard to handle with just one defender, meaning the Beavers may look to double him or play within zone concepts this afternoon.

Tahj Eaddy is one of the few true ball-handlers in a fleet of NBA sized talents that make the Trojans a really hard to guard squad. Isaiah Mobley, Evan’s older brother, is a force on the interior and let’s not sleep on 6’ 8” perimeter talents Drew Peterson and Isaiah White, both of whom have rapidly improved their play as of late.

Overall, this USC program is still very much in the running for the Pac-12 crown and I’d be shocked if they don’t come out and play like it. They key to this one for Oregon State needs to weathering the storm and playing through bad stretches of the contest. It also wouldn’t hurt if Ethan Thompson found his fire in this one and single-handedly, gave the Beavers a shot down the stretch.

Don’t Forget About...Ethan Anderson: The guard has played in just five games this season due to injury, but slowly, he’s regaining his role within the team and he’s someone the Trojans will undoubtedly need to make a run in March. The former Oregon State target in recruiting averaged 4.2 assists last season for USC.

Game Info

  • Date: Tuesday, January 19th
  • Time: 4:00 PM PT
  • Location: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Oregon)
  • Coverage: ESPN2