LOS ANGELES - USC’s men’s basketball schedule is turning into a San Diego homecoming, and not just because the Trojans keep landing on the same stretch of coastline this fall.
By the time nonconference play wraps, USC will have made three separate trips to the San Diego area, starting with Saturday’s exhibition at UC San Diego. A Power-4 team agreeing to three road games at non-Power-4 schools in the same city is unusual enough on its own. For USC, though, the fit makes sense because the city is stitched into the program in a way that goes beyond convenience.
Head coach Eric Musselman and assistant coach Michael Musselman both have deep roots in San Diego. Each attended the University of San Diego, where USC will play a nationally televised game on Dec. 8, and both spent meaningful pieces of their playing and coaching development in the city. Eric Musselman played for USD and reached the NCAA Tournament twice as a Torero, while Michael and Matthew Musselman began their coaching paths there as student managers.
That connection is part of why these road games matter to USC’s staff. They see value in taking a roster with a lot of new faces into different environments, against teams that can force different kinds of problems.
“San Diego has an underrated but great sports culture,” Assistant Coach Michael Musselman said. “The Padres draw really well and when they’re in the playoffs, Petco Park is popping like nowhere else in the country.
The Chargers were beloved down there. To be able to play a hometown game and give back, in a way, to the San Diego sports culture we’ve been part of is super special.”
Saturday’s matchup with UC San Diego will be the first meeting between the programs. Since moving to Division I in 2021, the Tritons have quickly established themselves as a Big West threat, and two seasons ago they reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Former head coach Eric Olen is now at New Mexico, but longtime associate head coach Clint Allard has kept the group on track.
“UCSD is really well coached, they’re disciplined and they’re a team that can win their league,” Eric Musselman said. “With so many new guys, we wanted to play three road games so that everybody gets a feel for what the expectations are for road games.”
The Trojans’ first exhibition, against North Carolina, brought one type of test: a big, physical Power-4 opponent. UC San Diego will bring something different, with a smaller, more positionless lineup and plenty of shooting.
“UC San Diego gives us a different look than North Carolina,” Michael Musselman said. “UC San Diego has four shooters on the floor at all times.
Seeing a different profile, from a personnel perspective, will be helpful. With these San Diego games, we’re playing three well-coached teams that have had a ton of success in the last five years.”
USC’s second San Diego stop, on Oct. 23 against San Diego State, brings back another familiar coaching link. Eric Musselman’s Nevada teams played plenty of high-stakes, high-contact games against Brian Dutcher’s San Diego State teams in the Mountain West. Their relationship, though, goes back even further.
“Our relationship goes all the way back to when my dad coached at the University of Minnesota, Dutcher’s dad replaced him,” Eric Musselman said. “We’ve had a relationship for a long time.
But the reason to play San Diego State is we’ve played their teams when I was at Nevada. They play physical defensively and they’re always a tournament-caliber team.”
If there’s a throughline across all three San Diego games, it’s the crowd. USC expects plenty of cardinal and gold in every gym, especially at RIMAC Arena on Saturday night.
Eric Musselman’s mother, Kris Musselman Platt, lives in La Jolla and will bring friends to each game. Add in his college teammates and the Trojans’ alumni base, and USC should have support in the stands throughout the trip.
“I think it’s awesome,” Michael Musselman said. “Coach Muss is pretty much from San Diego, and although he went to high school in Ohio, San Diego is where he claims his home.
So for him to be able to go back home and play in front of a hometown crowd and in front of his mom is super special. He’s got a ton of friends and college teammates that still live down there.”
“It’s a huge added bonus that my mom can see us play three times,” Eric Musselman added. “I’ll probably bring the staff over to her house, and if we have time, I’ll probably take the team to where I grew up playing on an outdoor court at the La Jolla Recreational Center. On one of the three trips, we’ll do that for sure.”
USC’s exhibition against UC San Diego tips at 7:00 p.m. PT Saturday and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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