Utah vs. USC men's basketball preview: Key stats, how to watch
The USC men's basketball team will host Utah at the Galen Center on Saturday night at 7:30 pm. USC comes into the game with an overall record of 12-5 (4-2 in the Pac-12). Utah is 12-6 and 5-2 in conference play.
USC won its first game of 2023 on Thursday night 68-61 over Colorado. The win ended the Trojans two game losing streak following an undefeated December. Before beating Colorado, USC fell on the road to Washington State 81-71 and to No. 7 UCLA 60-58.
Utah has lost two straight coming into Saturday's game. The Utes fell against Oregon at home 70-60 and to UCLA on the road 68-49 last Thursday.
KEY METRICS
While offense has been tough to come by for Utah at times this season, the Utes are an excellent defensive team. Ken Pomeroy, a college basketball analytics expert, ranks Utah as the 19th best team in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. Utah holds its opponents to 61.8 points per game.
On the offensive side of the ball, Utah ranks 114th in adjusted offensive efficiency. USC ranks 78th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 46th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
A win for USC on Saturday would earn the Trojans a Quadrant 2 win. If Utah beats USC, the Utes would earn a Quadrant 1 win.
USC is 1-2 against ranked teams this season. The Trojans beat No. 21 Auburn at home 74-71 last month and lost to No. 5 Tennessee 73-66 in overtime in November and then to No. 7 UCLA on Jan. 5. Utah is also 1-2 against ranked opponents. The Utes beat No. 9 Arizona 81-66 in December and lost to No. 17 TCU 75-71 later that month in addition to dropping their last game against No. 7 UCLA.
Boogie Ellis leads USC in scoring averaging 15.6 points per game. Drew Peterson scores 13.8 points per game. Four Utah players average double figure scoring outputs: big man Branden Carlson leads the Utes with 15.7 points per game, Gabe Madsen averages 12.2 points per game, Marco Anthony scores 11 points per game and Lazar Stefanovic averages 10.3.
USC forward Joshua Morgan ranks fifth in the nation averaging 2.8 blocks per game.
In Pac-12 play last season, USC won both games against Utah by double digits.
How to Watch Utah vs. USC
When: 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m ET, Saturday, January 14th
Where: Galen Center | Los Angeles, Calif.
TV: Pac-12 Network
Radio: Live USC Men's Basketball game broadcasts can be heard locally on 790 KABC-AM (Los Angeles, Calif.), 1400 KSHP (Las Vegas, Nev.), 1010 KXPS (Palm Desert, Calif) and 1230 KSZL (Barstow, Calif.), and nationally on USCTrojans.com/Listen and SiriusXM.
