Preview, how to watch No. 20 Maryland basketball vs. USC
It's the first meeting between the Terps and the Trojans in over 34 years.
A three-game homestand for the 20th-ranked Maryland men's basketball team continues Thursday night.
The Terps (20-6, 10-5 Big Ten) welcome USC (14-11, 6-8) to the XFINITY Center for the first meeting between the programs as Big Ten foes. Maryland leads the all-time series over the Trojans, 3-0, though they have not played since Nov. 28, 1990, a 72-59 win in College Park. Hall of Famer George Raveling, a Maryland assistant from 1969-72, was then the head coach of USC.
Maryland has won three games in a row, seven of their last eight games and nine of their last 11 games. The Terps are up to 12th in the NET and 14th at KenPom, and they are doing it with one of the nation's best starting five – now also known as "The Crab Five": Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel, Julian Reese and Derik Queen.
USC, led by Eric Musselman in his first year in Los Angeles, has lost three of its last four games. It is coming off a 69-66 home loss to Minnesota this past Saturday.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch, follow and listen to the matchup.
Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20 at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland
TV: FOX Sports 1 – Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Phil Martelli (analyst)
Streaming: FOX Sports
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network, 105.7FM (Baltimore), 980AM (D.C.) – Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst), Walt Williams (analyst), Tom Marchitto (engineer)
Live Stats: Link
KenPom Line: Maryland -11
Thursday is a Quadrant 2 game for Maryland and a Quadrant 1 opportunity for USC. The Trojans currently are not in the NCAA Tournament picture. They have a 3-8 record in Quadrant 1, a 2-1 record in Quadrant 2, a 3-2 record in Quadrant 3 and a 6-0 record in Quadrant 4. USC is No. 65 in the NET, No. 56 at KenPom and No. 47 at BartTorvik.
The Trojans are 50th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and 83rd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom. They are a solid three-point shooting team (36.3%, 61st nationally) and a solid three-point defending team (30.9%, 39th nationally).
USC is led by one of the best transfers and one of the best freshmen in the conference. Desmond Claude, the 6-foot-6 junior guard who transferred from Xavier, is averaging 16 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He is shooting 50.2% from the field and 34.9% from three. During Big Ten play, Claude ranks second in the conference in percentage of possessions. Wesley Yates III, a 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman guard who redshirted at Washington last year, is averaging 12.8 points and shooting 47.9% from the field and 42.4% from three. Yates is shooting 50.9% from three (27-for-53) in conference play, the second-best mark in the Big Ten.
"Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing is, you look at – Desmond Claude is one of the best players in this conference," Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said in a 105.7 The Fan radio appearance Tuesday. "I mean, he's averaging 18 points a game. And they have a freshman that – I mean, I think I have the best freshman in the country – but Wesley Yates is a young guard that is just playing at, doing things in this conference that as a guard that you shouldn't be able to do. So defensively, they defend the three extremely well. They're long. Muss plays that positionless basketball, one through five they switch. So, we're going to have to defend the three, and we're going to have to get out in transition."
Boise State transfer guard Chibuzo Agbo, Northern Colorado transfer Saint Thomas and UMass transfer Josh Cohen fill out the Trojans' all-transfer starting five. Agbo, 6-foot-7, is USC's third-leading scorer at 12.1 points per game. He also averages 4.6 rebounds per game and shoots 40.5% from the field and 38.9% from three. The 6-foot-7 Thomas is averaging 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Cohen, 6-foot-10, averages 7.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game and shoots 64.4% from two.
Bowling Green transfer forward Rashaun Agee, 6-foot-8, and Yale transfer forward Matt Knowling, 6-foot-6, played significant minutes off the bench for the Trojans in the loss to Minnesota. Agee averages 3.6 points per game and Knowling averages 3.2. Penn transfer guard Clark Slajchert and 6-foot-8 freshman forward Jalen Shelley respectively played two minutes and one minute against the Golden Gophers. Isaiah Elohim, Kevin Patton Jr. and Bryce Pope – whom Maryland was interested in out of the transfer portal – have all played sporadic minutes off the bench this season.
While it has been a rollercoaster of a season for USC, the Trojans have been capable of pulling off big wins, such as their victory at Illinois on Jan. 11 and their home win over Michigan State on Feb. 1. Willard noted how Maryland needs to be alert of their positionless style of basketball. Maryland is a big favorite for a reason, though, and the Terps should expect to continue to play well at home in front of the XFINITY Center crowd.
