3 USC Players Who’ll Demand MSU’s Attention
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Spartans vs. Trojans, in a way, goes back thousands of years. These two programs only just became conference rivals last season, though.
Both Michigan State and USC are coming off losses and will look to get back to their winning ways on Monday night (8:30 p.m. ET, FS1). The ninth-ranked Spartans just lost, 58-56, at No. 24 Nebraska on Friday night to fall to 12-2 overall and 2-1 during Big Ten play. No. 24 USC was blown out by second-ranked Michigan, 96-66, that same night. That dropped the Trojans to 12-2 overall as well, but to 1-2 in conference play.
Chances are that USC will end up being unranked after its lopsided loss to the Wolverines once the new AP Poll is released on Monday afternoon, prior to the game. MSU is probably bound to slip a couple of slots, too.
This will be another interesting one for the Spartans. The Trojans were one of Michigan State's three conference losses last year, after all. MSU now gets to host them for the first time since USC joined the Big Ten, and actually for the first time ever in the Breslin Center. Here are a couple players to know from the Trojans:
Chad Baker-Mazara
If the name sounds familiar, that's because it is. Chad Baker-Mazara was a key contributor on that Auburn team that took down Michigan State in the Elite Eight last year. The Spartans did hold him to only six points during that game, though. He transferred to USC this past offseason and has been the Trojans' best player thus far at 25 years of age.
This is actually the fifth college Baker-Mazara has played for in his college career. He began at Duquesne, then San Diego State, then JUCO Northwest Florida State College, then Auburn, and now USC.
Baker-Mazara has played in and started all 14 of USC's games thus far. He's averaged 20.4 points per game so far, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Baker-Mazara also averages 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game and shoots 36.4% from three and 89.7% from the free-throw line.
That has been a real jump from his role at Auburn last year. He's gone from "significant contributor" with the Tigers to being the focal point of what USC does, especially after the season-ending injury to Rodney Rice, who had averaged 20.3 points per game through six games.
Ezra Ausar
USC's second scoring option now is Ezra Ausar, a transfer addition who was at Utah last season. He has been averaging 16.9 points per game thus far, along with 5.8 rebounds per game. Los Angeles is Ausar's third college stop of his career, as he began at East Carolina.
Ausar has also done all of this without having attempted a three-pointer all season. He's 6-foot-9, but normally is the Trojans' five-man and will likely be guarded by either MSU's Jaxon Kohler or Carson Cooper. USC also has 7-foot-5 Gabe Dynes, though he plays just 10.2 minutes per game.
One of Ausar's biggest skills is his ability to draw fouls. He has taken 128 free-throw attempts this season, which is the most in all of Division I basketball. Ausar has made 66.4% of those shots from the charity stripe.
Jacob Cofie
Another key starter is four-man Jacob Cofie. He's yet another transfer portal addition for the Trojans. Cofie spent his true freshman season at Virginia before heading out west this past offseason.
So far this year, Cofie is averaging 9.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. He's shot 57.0% from the field, making nearly two-thirds of his two-point attempts. Cofie has a defensive box plus/minus of 4.2 so far this season, according to CBB Reference, which is the best mark among regular members of the Trojans' rotation.
USC having perhaps its best defender at the four spot definitely works out well for the Trojans. That's where Michigan State's leading scorer, Kohler, plays. Kohler just had another big game against Nebraska, making five threes and finishing with another double-double.
Kohler vs. Cofie would definitely be one of the matchups to watch if that were to be the way the lineups ended up shaking out. MSU is going to look for a better offensive showing on Monday after scoring just 56 points against the Cornhuskers.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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