Alijah Arenas is set up to take the biggest leap on the USC Trojans’ roster this season, and that’s the bet here: he finishes as the team’s leading scorer.
USC comes into the year with a roster good enough to contend for a Big Ten title, and the depth should give the Trojans room to survive injuries. The real question is who becomes the main option when the game tightens up. The answer, at least to start the season, looks like Arenas.
He enters the year healthy and without the complications that affected his freshman season. That alone changes the picture.
Add in a more talented lineup around him, and Arenas should benefit from the attention spread across the floor. Defenses won’t be able to zero in on him, especially with Rodney Rice alongside him and other powerful pieces in the rotation at all times.
The early signs are already there. In USC’s first exhibition game, Arenas scored 17 points and went 7-for-15 from the field against North Carolina.
He looked confident, and it was the kind of performance that suggested the offseason work showed up right away. It also echoed what he did in February last season, when he put together three straight 20-point games.
His numbers from last year already showed a strong foundation. Arenas averaged 14.1 points and 2.1 assists per game.
This season, the expectation is a major jump: 20 points and 5 assists a night. With better help around him, his passing should open up, and USC will likely lean on him when it needs a bucket late.
If that plays out, Arenas won’t just be the Trojans’ top scorer. He’ll force college basketball to take notice as one of the best players in the country, and that kind of season would make him a highly coveted prospect in the upcoming draft.
In Other News...
USC's Big Ten Path Suddenly Looks More Open After Chaotic Weekend
A chaotic Big Ten weekend shook up the league picture in ways USC will notice right away. Washington, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers, Michigan, UCLA and Oregon all came away with wins, and the slate was shaped as much by quarterback movement and injuries as by the final scores. Julian Sayin's injury altered Ohio State's path, while Dylan Raiola's return gave Oregon a different kind of lift, another reminder that the league's weekly balance can change fast.
For USC, the takeaway is less about any one result and more about how fluid the conference race has become. The Trojans have spent much of this stretch trying to measure where they fit in the new Big Ten pecking order, and a weekend like this only adds to the sense that the path ahead is not as fixed as it once looked. With so many teams dealing with shifting quarterback situations and uneven team dynamics, USC suddenly has more room to make its own case in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]
USC Defense May Be Finding Its Edge At The Perfect Time
USC used its open week to do more than catch its breath. Inside a defense that has been under scrutiny at points this season, players like Jide Abasiri, Kameryn Crawford, Jahkeem Stewart and Luke Wafle were showing the kind of steady progress and voice that can matter just as much as scheme. Abasiri, even while dealing with injury, managed to get on the field for a snap and kept doing the unglamorous work of mentoring teammates, the kind of detail that can quietly raise a units standard.
Wafles development has been especially notable, with the freshman recording his first college sacks while building chemistry with the players around him. The broader result has started to show up in the details of the defense itself, including fewer penalties and a cleaner overall approach. For a Trojans team looking for every possible edge, the timing could hardly be better. [Read more 🡒]
USC Suddenly Has A Real Opening In The Big Ten Race
The Big Ten picture tightened up in a way that should have USC paying close attention. Ohio State still sits at the top of the league despite some injury concerns, and the latest Week 7 ranking reflects a conference that has already started to sort itself out, with several teams dealing with uneven form and key players either banged up or trending in different directions. For the Trojans, that kind of week matters because the path in a new league often opens up when the top group stops looking as secure as it once did.
USC has been mentioned as a potential contender, and now the conversation feels more real because the league around it is no longer spotless. The Trojans do not need the entire conference to collapse, but they do need the teams ahead of them to keep showing cracks, especially with injuries beginning to shape how some of those contenders can look from one Saturday to the next. For a program trying to establish itself in the Big Ten race, this is the kind of stretch where momentum can turn a hopeful season into something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]