USC’s offense came out firing, its defense slammed the door when San Diego State tried to make things interesting, and the No. 21 Trojans walked out of Viejas Arena with an 85-68 exhibition win on Friday night.
The Trojans never trailed and controlled the game with a 20-12 edge in turnovers, using an early burst and a relentless defensive stretch to separate from a Brian Dutcher-coached Aztecs team known for making opponents work for everything. USC also moved the ball cleanly, finishing with 32 field goals on 19 assists, and eight of its nine made threes were set up by a teammate.
Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas once again powered the backcourt. Rice led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting and knocked down five of his eight attempts from deep.
Arenas added 22 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, along with four assists, two steals and just one turnover in 32 minutes. Jacob Cofie contributed 13 points, matched the team high with five assists, and added two rebounds and two steals.
USC set the tone early by hitting six of its first 10 threes and finishing the first half at 50 percent from beyond the arc. Rice’s third three of the night stretched the lead to 30-20 with 8:21 left in the half, and the Trojans kept that cushion until the closing minutes before halftime.
That’s when USC delivered the decisive punch. Nursing a 32-23 lead with just under six minutes left in the half, the Trojans ripped off a 15-0 run.
Cofie started it with consecutive dunks, USC jumped passing lanes, and the defense forced five turnovers in a 2:41 span while turning the game into a 45-23 lead. Arenas then finished an and-one to push the margin to 23, and USC took a 51-31 advantage into halftime.
San Diego State made its push in the second half, trimming a 58-35 USC lead to nine with 10 minutes remaining after a 13-2 run. But the Trojans steadied themselves behind timely plays from KJ Lewis and Darius Ratliff. Ratliff played through foul trouble and still managed four second-half blocks, while Lewis hauled in four crucial offensive rebounds.
From there, USC closed the door. Cofie and Rice fueled a 7-0 run that put the Trojans ahead 81-63 with 1:52 left, and the defense held SDSU to just two made field goals over the final 4:49.
The win gave Eric Musselman his first victory in Viejas Arena.
USC’s starting five of Rice, Arenas, Cofie, Adonis Ratliff and Darius Ratliff made its second exhibition appearance and is now 1-1 in exhibition play.
The numbers told the story of the night: USC shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three in the first half, both best-in-half marks for the Trojans in exhibition games. Overall, USC finished at 50 percent from the floor, also a team-best during exhibition play, and hit 36 percent from three. The Trojans’ 15 steals were the most they’ve had in a game under Musselman.
Isaac Bruns added five points and a game-high three steals in 10 minutes off the bench, and six Trojans finished with multiple steals.
USC opens its season and home slate on Monday, Nov. 2 against Milwaukee. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT, and the game will air on BIG+.
In Other News...
USC Is Chasing A Local Recruiting Win Lincoln Riley Needs
USCs push for the 2028 class already has a local name at the center of it, and CaRon Williams has become one of the early targets worth tracking. The four-star defensive back has drawn attention from a long list of heavy hitters, but the Trojans have a built-in advantage with multiple visits to campus already under his belt, giving Lincoln Riley and his staff a chance to sell him on staying close to home.
For a program trying to build momentum early in that cycle, landing a player like Williams would matter well beyond one commitment. USC currently has just one pledge in the 2028 class, and the Trojans are expected to ramp up their recruiting efforts in the spring of 2027, which makes this a situation to watch as the next stage of the process gets going. [Read more 🡒]
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For UCLA, the loss of starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava reshapes the equation, while USC is focused on what its own schedule and key contributors can still produce down the stretch. The conference race is tight enough that both teams have to keep stacking wins to stay in range, and the matchup possibilities only get more interesting from there. If the pieces continue to fall a certain way, the Big Ten could end up with a championship game that once belonged only to old conference lore. [Read more 🡒]
Former Utah Star Took A Fresh Shot At USC Before Wisconsin
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Kincaid pointed back to Utahs history of success against the Trojans, including that 43-42 win in 2022, as part of why he liked Wisconsins chances. It was a pointed pick against a USC team that entered the matchup as a slight favorite, and it added another layer to a game already carrying some extra intrigue. [Read more 🡒]