Michigan State basketball vs. USC in NCAA tournament game time: Get to know Trojans
Michigan State basketball knows its next assignment. The Spartans will seek a ninth Final Four under Tom Izzo, but for that to happen, they must first deal with USC in the 2023 NCAA tournament.
MSU, a No. 7 seed in the East Region, begins its NCAA tournament run Friday in Columbus, Ohio, against No. 10 seed Southern Cal. Tip-off for that game is 12:15 p.m. and will be on CBS.
Diehard Spartans fans may remember these two schools met in the Rose Bowl to end the 1987 football season. On Jan. 1, 1988, in Pasadena, California, MSU came away with a 20-17 win.
Now, a couple of generations later, Izzo will take on head coach Andy Enfield's team for a chance to take on either Marquette or Vermont. So who will win this soon-to-be conference matchup (Remember, USC is moving to the Big Ten in a couple of years)? Here's a quick look at the Men of Troy.
OPINION:This Michigan State team faces last chance to uphold Tom Izzo legacy, make mark in March
BRACKET BUSTIN':Print your bracket, make your March Madness picks now
This season
USC went 22-10 and 14-6 in the Pac-12, tied for second in the conference behind UCLA and Arizona, a pair of No. 2 seeds in the NCAA tournament.
The Trojans were third in the conference in scoring (72.8 points per game) and third in field goal shooting (45.8%). They make 34.4% of their 3-pointers (fifth in the Pac-12) and are seventh in the conference in rebounding (35.3). USC allows 66.9 points per game and is the best in the league allowing opponents to shoot just 39% from the field.
TALE OF THE TAPE:What you need to know for Michigan State vs. USC
History in the tournament
While Izzo is making his 25th straight NCAA tournament appearance, the USC program is in the Big Dance for the 20th time and the third straight season.
Enfield, who started his coaching career as the shooting coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, worked his way up, from an assistant with the Boston Celtics, to the staff at Florida State. He made a name as the head coach of Florida Gulf Coast when that team, nicknamed "Dunk City," made an NCAA tournament run to the Sweet 16 in 2013. He was hired by USC the next season.
In 2021, the Trojans made their deepest run in the tournament in 20 years, advancing to the Elite Eight before falling to No. 1 seed Gonzaga. The No. 6 seed Trojans had eventual budding NBA star Evan Mobley in tow, but also a couple of players they now feature on this year's team: Drew Peterson and Isaiah White both had prominent roles then and now.
USC has reached the Final Four twice: 1940 and 1954.
Players to watch
USC's go-to guy is Boogie Ellis, a 6-foot-3 senior guard from San Diego. The man named Rejean started his college career at Memphis and was the AAC Co-Sixth Man of the Year in 2021. This season, he averaged 18 points per game, and shot 39.2% from the 3-point line.
Peterson joined Ellis on the All-Pac-12 first team, starting all 32 games this season. The 6-9 guard in his fifth year in college averaged 14 points per game but has been held under 10 in his past three games.
Reese Dixon-Waters isn't a starter, but was named the Pac-12 Sixth Man of the Year, after the 6-5 sophomore guard out of the LBC (Long Beach, California) averaged 9.4 points and 3.3 rebounds
And there's one more guard to keep an eye on: Tre White was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team after the 6-7 Dallas native averaged 9.1 points per game.
Famous basketball alums
USC fits into a football school historically (the Heisman Trophies, the national titles, the running back factory, etc.).
Along with Mobley, current NBA players include Kevin Porter Jr., Nikola Vucevic and Taj Gibson (yes, he's still in the league). Among the best of that group, though, is DeMar DeRozan, multi-time All-Star who was on the conference All-Freshman Team in his lone year for the Cardinal and Gold.
Here are a few names from the past: O.J. Mayo, Nick Young, Brian Scalabrine and "Baby Jordan" Harold Miner.
And even further back: Paul Westphal, Gus Williams, Bill Sharman and Tex Winter, the father of the triangle offense.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Get to know Michigan State basketball's NCAA tournament opponent: USC
