Maryland Men's Basketball At. USC Preview
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The Maryland men's basketball team returns to action on Tuesday evening against USC at the Galen Center in its second game of a two-game road trip in California.
USC (13-3, 2-3 Big Ten) has had a good start to its season, winning seven of its last 10 contests. The Trojans' three losses have come to Washington and to heavyweights: No. 4 Michigan and No. 12 Michigan State.
The Terps (7-9, 0-5 Big Ten) will look to split their brief West Coast trip with a win over USC on Tuesday evening and earn their first Big Ten conference victory of the season.
Let's dive into Tuesday's matchup and what the Terps have to do to come out victorious....
Game Details:
When: Tuesday, January 13th
Where: Galen Center in Los Angeles, California
Tipoff: 10:30 p.m. ET
How to watch: Fox Sports 1
USC Key Stats:
Record: 13-3 (2-3 Big Ten)
Head Coach: Eric Musselman
Leading Scorer: Chad
Baker-Mazara- 19.9 points per game
Leading Rebounder: Jacob
Cofie- 6.4 rebounds per game (4.9 DRPG & 1.4 ORPG)
Leader in Assists: Chad
Baker-Mazara- 3.4 assists per game
Team FG % per game: 47.3 (T87th in the country)
Team 3PT FG % per game: 34 (T193rd in the country)
Pace: 70.7 (T78th in the country)
True Shooting %: 58.5 (83rd in the country)
Players To Watch
USC Guard- Chad
Baker-Mazara
The experienced senior guard is USC's leading scorer and one of the conference's better scorers. He has a nice outside stroke and also finishes efficiently inside the paint. On defense, his size makes it hard for opposing players, and he always brings energy on every possession.
Maryland Guard- Darius Adams
Adams hasn't had the efficiency from the offensive end this season that he knows his game is capable of, but he has finished in double figures in three of the past four contests. The Maryland backcourt needs consistent production, especially over this most recent stretch. Adams will also be key in slowing down Baker-Mazara on the defensive side.
History vs. USC
The Terps do not have an extensive history against the Trojans, having met only four times in program history. However, the Terps won all four meetings (three at home and one on the road). Maryland won the most recent matchup at College Park last year, 88-71. Former guards Ja'Kaobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice (who's now a Trojan, but out for the season due to a shoulder injury) each had 20+ points in the victory.
Final Take
The Terps are in desperate need of a victory, not only to end the streak but also to improve the team's morale, which has not been happy with the basketball being played over the past month or so.
Maryland has to find a way to play two full halves of clean basketball that starts with movement on the offensive side and hitting outside shots. Then translating that energy to the defensive end, rotating, communicating, playing aggressively, and not letting up.
Finally, hold any lead you create, no matter if it's one point, seven points, or double digits.
More from Maryland On SI
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.