USC men's basketball season tips off Friday night at 8 p.m. at Galen Center. Plenty of good seats still available by clicking here!
The game is not on TV, but you can watch it live at USCTrojans.com or listen to the game on 710 AM ESPN Radio.
The game is not on TV, but you can watch it live at USCTrojans.com or listen to the game on 710 AM ESPN Radio.
- USC's starting lineup for the opener: PG Maurice Jones, SG Eric Strangis, SF Byron Wesley, PF Aaron Fuller and C Dewayne Dedmon. Strangis is a walk-on, but Kevin O'Neill wants a "heady" player in the game. "He's solid," O'Neill explained. "He knows everything. He knows all the coverages. He knows all the plays. That's something that's going to be important to us." The head coach is happy with the firepower off the bench in G Alexis Moore, G Greg Allen, F Garrett Jackson and C James Blasczyk.
Byron Wesley will start from day one as a true freshman. "I'm really not nervous. I'm just excited," said Wesley, an Etiwanda High School product who will have family and friends at the game. "We finally get a chance to show what we can do." Wesley steps into the wing role vacated by Marcus Simmons, so he will likely be asked to defend the other team's best perimeter scorer. "Defense is one of my best attributes and I just want to try and shut down their best player."
- Cal State Northridge upset USC in the 2005 opener, which was Tim Floyd's first game as coach. Bobby Braswell is still the Matadors head man, so the Trojans can expect a steady diet of 1-3-1 and other zone defenses, which will test a young team still learning its own system. "Every game is going to be tricky for us because we don't have any players with any experience except Mo," O'Neill expects a close game. "We've got a bunch of guys who are starting brand new, so we're going to face challenges every step of the way."
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- All four tunnels at Galen Center have been painted cardinal and gold (pictured).
Dewayne Dedmon had the cast removed on his right hand, so he is mostly full strength for the opener. Here he is on the hand, Sports Illustrated and making his USC debut...
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