Basketball Preview: MSU vs USC

Your ninth ranked Michigan State Spartans will be back in action at home Monday night to take on their fourth Big Ten opponent of the 2025-26 campaign: the USC Trojans (12-2, 1-2). The Spartans will also enter this matchup with a record of 12-2, and are in the midst of their worst stretch of the season to this point. Since a close December 6th loss at home to Duke, the last month of MSU Basketball has been underwhelming, to say the least. State has allowed inferior opponents like Penn State, Oakland, and Cornell to hang around, and this sloppy play finally caught up to them Friday night on the road against a fiery Nebraska Cornhusker team, losing 58-56 to the tune of 19 turnovers.

USC, the 24th ranked team in the land, will head to East Lansing following a crushing loss on the road in ann arbor Friday night. Similarly to Michigan State, the Trojans committed 21 turnovers. However, unlike our Spartans, USC was not able to overcome these mistakes and lost in blowout fashion, 96-66. This brings the Trojans to a 1-2 record in Big Ten play thus far, having split their first pair conference games against Oregon and Washington.

The Scouting Report

So, what’s the scoop on Southern Cal? Their record and AP Top 25 ranking are a credit to the ability of Eric Musselman’s squad to win close games in their non-conference schedule. USC put together a non-con resume that includes a narrow victory over Grand Canyon, an overtime win against the (Troy) Trojans, and three impressive triumphs in Hawaii against the likes of Boise State, Seton Hall, and Arizona State to take home the Maui Invitational Title. The trip to Hawaii was a key inflection point for USC, as they returned to the mainland with not only the trophy, but with a huge new question to be answered- who will be able step up after a key injury to star combo guard Rodney Rice. The junior had been averaging upwards of 20 points and 6 assists per game, before suffering an injury to his right shoulder against Seton Hall. In his…

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Publish date : 2026-01-04 12:00:00

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