The Trojans keep their tournament hopes alive with their blowout win against Penn State on Tuesday, Feb 11. The game was decided pretty early, with USC getting out to a fast start, leading by as much as 20 points in parts of the first half.
“We knew this was a very important game,” Starting guard Desmond Claude said. “So we had to dig deep within ourselves and lock in.” Coming into the game, it was questionable whether Claude would play after missing the last two games with a knee injury. He played a total of 36 out of 40 minutes, finishing with a brutal eight turnovers but sparking USC’s attack all night with 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Claude wasn’t the only Trojan player dealing with health issues as star freshman guard Wesley Yates III was dealing with a stomach bug before the game and left the game during the first half with a broken nose, according to coach Eric Musselman. Yates did return, playing 36 minutes, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting. “I mean, it’s a game that I’ll remember for a while,” Musselman said, “just because of how unsure we were about what was going on.”
Starting guard Chibuzo Agbo Jr. will definitely remember this game as some can deem it his ‘Flu game’ as he was dealing with a stomach bug, needing IVs during the week, and missing practice, but Agbo didn’t let it affect his game performance. Agbo went 7 for 9 from the three (career high in threes made), scoring 21 points.
Agbo entered Tuesday night carrying a 20 percent mark from 3-point range in his past six games, but his shot-making helped USC break the game open and double their season percentage in shooting in one game. They shot a blistering 67.3 percent (33 for 49), including 75 percent (12 for 16) from 3-point range. The Trojans shot 82.4 percent (14 for 17) from the foul line for good measure. Before this game, USC averaged a 34.2 percent success rate from the 3.
Josh Cohen was inserted back into the lineup, playing his most minutes (21) since losing his starting job, and contributed 12 points and five rebounds. The Trojans beat Penn State 92-67 and hope to continue this success vs the Minnesota Gophers.