USC men’s basketball is heading into the 2026-27 season with a very different feel than the one that ended in disappointment last spring.
The Trojans’ 2025-26 run was slammed shut by a heartbreaking overtime loss to Washington in the Big Ten Tournament, capping a brutal eight-game skid to close the year after USC had surged to a 12-1 start. Now, the focus shifts to what comes next - and the clearest reason for optimism is the return of senior guard Rodney Rice.
Rice has been cleared for all basketball activities on Friday, a major step for a player who gave USC a massive lift in a tiny sample last season. After transferring from Maryland in 2025, following a March Madness run that carried the Terrapins to the third round, Rice played just six games for the Trojans before a right shoulder injury knocked him out for the year.
In that stretch, he averaged 20.3 points, 6 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game, posted USC’s second-ever triple-double and helped the team win the Southwest Maui Invitational before his season was cut short. He later had shoulder surgery.
His return matters even more because USC never got the chance to see Rice and sophomore guard Alijah Arenas on the floor together. Arenas came back late from his own injury, so the two guards - both considered among the top at their position when healthy - never formed the backcourt combo the Trojans were waiting for. That changes now, and it gives Eric Musselman’s offense a much-needed jolt.
USC’s roster outlook also includes a top-10 recruiting class and a group of returners that the program believes can get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023. But there’s one health note on the other side of the ledger: sophomore center Eric Reibe is not yet cleared. The UConn transfer had foot surgery on July 31 and is expected to be out for an indefinite period.
The Trojans’ preseason tune-up will come against a heavyweight name. USC announced Friday that it will face North Carolina on Oct. 9 in Greensboro, North Carolina, in its only confirmed preseason game. The matchup will be the first between the programs since March 23, 2007, when the No. 1-seeded Tar Heels knocked out the No. 5-seeded Trojans in the Sweet 16.
There’s also a notable coaching wrinkle. Musselman spent time in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors in the 2000s, and during that stretch he coached Arenas’s father, Gilbert.
On the other side, UNC head coach Michael Malone brings his own pro pedigree after 10 seasons leading the Denver Nuggets, a run that ended with the 2023 NBA Championship. This will be Malone’s first game coaching UNC after his hire in April.
So even though it’s only an exhibition, the stage is set for a real test. USC and UNC will tip off Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. at First Horizon Coliseum.
In Other News...
USC Just Reopened A Frustrating Debate About Lincoln Rileys Program
USCs 2026 opener against San Jose State did more than start a new football season. It also reopened an old question about how much pull Lincoln Rileys program really has, after the Coliseum was filled to only about one-third of its capacity. The university tried to get ahead of the optics with a statement pointing to possible factors behind the turnout, including the weather and the opponent.
Still, the image of a sparsely populated Coliseum landed hard because it came against the backdrop of what fans have come to expect from this program on game day. The discussion quickly drifted beyond one afternoon and back to a familiar frustration around scheduling choices and whether USC is giving supporters enough reason to show up early and often. [Read more 🡒]
Oregons New Play-Callers Will Decide How Real This 2024 Hype Is
USCs own coordinator search has been part of the wider wave of change sweeping college football, with Todd Orlando stepping in as the new defensive voice after the Trojans moved on from the previous setup. Around the sport, fresh play-callers are already shaping how teams are perceived, from Bobby Petrinos arrival at North Carolina to other staff shakeups at Texas, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Oregon, where early results have given fans a first taste of what these moves might mean.
For USC, the broader lesson is pretty clear: coordinator hires do not stay abstract for long. They quickly become the difference between a unit that merely looks organized and one that can actually hold up under pressure, and Orlandos early work will be judged in exactly that light as the Trojans try to make sense of a season defined as much by coaching changes as by on-field performance. [Read more 🡒]
USCs New Local Pipeline Already Looks Ready To Lift This Offense
USCs latest recruiting class wasted no time showing why the Trojans have been so aggressive about building a local pipeline. In the season opener, freshmen Trent Mosley, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Tron Baker and tight end Mark Bowman all started and immediately found roles in the offense, a reflection of the momentum general manager Chad Bowden and coach Chad Savage have tried to create with the 2026 group. Mosley made the loudest first impression, going for 118 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Bowman helped in the run game and running back Deshonne Redeaux flashed with a few promising carries.
For USC, the broader takeaway goes beyond one opener. When freshmen are not just dressed but already helping shape the game plan, it suggests the Trojans may be closer than expected to having another wave of homegrown playmakers ready to keep this offense moving. The only real question now is how quickly that early trust turns into a lasting feature of what USC wants to be on that side of the ball. [Read more 🡒]