USC Game Preview & How to Watch

Washington looks to end its two-game losing streak to former Pac-12 teams at undefeated USC

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

How to Watch (and bet)

Date: Saturday, 12/6/25

Tip-Off Time: 3:00 pm PT

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports Radio KJR

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Betting Line: Washington Huskies +5.5

USC Trojans 2025-26 Statistics:

Record: 8-0 (1-0)

Points For per Game: 90.6 (16th)

Points Against per Game: 77.5 (230th)

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 120.8 (21st)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 100.5 (51st)

Strength of Schedule:

95th

USC Key Players:

G- Rodney Rice, Sr. 6’5, 199: 20.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 6.0 apg, 41.1% FG, 38.5% 3pt, 74.4% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +3.1 BPR (3rd), 115.3 Adj

Off Eff (9th), 97.4 Adj Def Eff (3rd)

Rice is already on his 3rd stop in 3 years after starting his career coming off the bench for Virginia Tech before exploding as part of the Crab 5 for a great Maryland team last season. He strictly played shooting guard for the Terps but has been the starting point guard for USC and thrived in that role with a better than 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio while also scoring an efficient 20+ points per game. Rice has missed USC’s last 2 games with an injury and it’s unclear if he’ll return for this game but it’s a huge boost to UW’s chances if he can’t make it back.

G- Chad Baker-Mazara, Sr. 6’7, 172: 20.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 46.9% FG, 37.3% 3pt, 74.4% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +7.0 BPR (1st), 121.9 Adj Off Eff (4th), 97.9 Adj Def Eff (4th)

CBM is one of the oldest players in the country as he turns 26 next month having started his career in JUCO and now getting a 5th year still thanks to the Diego Pavia ruling. He has played at Duquesne, San Diego State, Auburn, and now USC but is undeniably a really good player despite his reputation as a bit of a hot head. That hasn’t come up yet for the Trojans as he is a true 3-and-D wing who has shot nearly 40% from deep for his career and doesn’t turn the ball over. He has been what UW is wishing they were getting from Desmond Claude.

G- Terrance Williams, Sr. 6’7, 235: 4.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.5 apg, 39.1% FG, 30.0% 3pt, 73.3% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +1.3 BPR (8th), 117.5 Adj Off Eff (7th), 100.2 Adj Def Eff (5th)

Williams is a baby compared to CBM given that he only turned 25 a few days ago and is in his 6th season of college basketball after playing 4 full years at Michigan while now in his 2nd at USC. Williams is the clear 5th option when on the floor and has embraced being a role player so far this year trying to do the little things while not turning the ball over. He took on a bigger load with the Wolverines but is definitely the least threatening offensive option while out there.

F- Jacob Cofie, S0, 6’10, 231: 10.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.4 blk, 51.6% FG, 35.3% 3pt, 76.5% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +5.8 BPR (2nd), 123.7 Adj Off Eff (3rd), 89.9 Adj Def Eff (1st)

My biggest disappointment of the offseason was UW not getting Cofie to come back home after the Eastside Catholic grad had a really nice freshman year at Virginia. Instead he’s at USC and looks like a clear contender for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year with 3+ blocks in 75% of their games so far. Cofie’s 3-point shooting has also improved with better spacing. If there’s one flaw in his game it’s that he’s merely a good but not great rebounder. But Cofie is the kind of guy who covers up a lot of holes and would be amazing next to Hannes Steinbach. What if.

F- Ezra Ausar, Sr. 6’9, 253: 16.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 ast, 66.2% FG, 62.3% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +2.9 BPR (6th), 121.9 Adj Off Eff (5th), 100.3 Adj Def Eff (6th)

Ausar is on his 3rd stop after starting his career at East Carolina then averaging 12.5 points per game for Utah last season. He is the definition of a bull in a china shop and is leading the country drawing an astonishing 10 fouls per 40 minutes (after finishing 5th last year). That has resulted in already taking as many free throws combined as Franck Kepnang, Lathan Sommerville, and Hannes Steinbach. The trade-off with Ausar is that he is a below average rebounder/shot blocker at the center position but is a perfect fit playing alongside Jacob Cofie who can provide spacing and rim protection while Ausar bullies in the paint on offense.

The Outlook

USC underwent the typical Eric Musselman complete transfer rebuild this offseason but it didn’t necessarily have to be this way. The Trojans’ two leading scorers both had eligibility remaining. Both of those scorers will be playing in L.A on Saturday but they’ll be suiting up for Washington instead.

Results are at best mixed for the imports of Wesley Yates and Desmond Claude (plus assistant coach Quincy Pondexter). Yates is shooting worse from everywhere on the court compared to last season but he’s drawing more fouls and rebounding better. The Huskies so far are 5-0 when Yates scores at least 13 points and 0-3 when he doesn’t. Claude missed the first 4 games and most of practice in August with a sprained ankle and hasn’t been the same player since his return. His career low 2-point percentage in 3 previous seasons was 47.2% and his lowest free throw rate was 32.9%. Those numbers are 29.7% and 17.0% so far with Washington.

The Trojans haven’t seemed to miss either so far. They’re off to an 8-0 start that includes a win of the Maui Invitational. In normal years that would mean probably at least one win over a top-ten team but USC has yet to play a team ranked better than 60th at KenPom due to the weakened Maui field with the expansion of the Players Era Festival (Washington currently sits at 59th).

It hasn’t been a schedule of cupcakes for USC. They’ve only played one team ranked worse than 225th and have won 4 straight away from home over teams ranked between 60th and 84th. The reason USC hasn’t vaulted into the top-ten of any rankings though is they haven’t exactly been dominant despite the wins. It took a near half-court buzzer beater in 3OT to beat Troy at home. They won their first two games in Maui by a combined 5 points and also only won at Oregon by 5 points when the Ducks were missing their best player.

To be fair, USC was also missing arguably their best player. Rodney Rice has come over from Maryland and looked like a potential All-American averaging 20+ points and 6+ assists on 39% 3-point shooting so far but has missed USC’s last 2 games. 6’7 SF Amarion Dickerson who comes off the bench but has been 5th on the team in minutes played took a hard fall against Oregon and did not return. The status of both is unknown for this game but if both were missing then it would be a huge break for Washington who finally got back Hannes Steinbach last game. (And don’t forget USC’s 5-star freshman Alijah Arenas is out with a knee injury for at least another month).

Even without Rice and Dickerson, USC still has plenty of firepower. Eric Musselman loves him some positional size and the Trojans are 6th in the country in average height so far with a starting lineup that runs 6’5, 6’7, 6’7, 6’10, 6’9 (and a 7’5 backup center). They use that height as a weapon on the offensive glass and to draw free throws as they’re top-ten nationally in free throw rate while also ranking 37th in 3-point percentage. It presents a damned if you do, damned if you don’t approach for defenses. Washington has to keep Hannes Steinbach on the floor as much as possible which means either drawing fouls against foul-merchant Ezra Ausar to keep him off the court or using Kepnang/Sommerville against Ausar to soak up the fouls he’ll surely draw.

The USC defense hasn’t been quite as good but they put their height to its proper use. The Trojans rank 8th in block percentage nationally turning back 17.5% of 2-point attempts so far. Expect to see a lot of rejections when Washington’s guards try to drive into the paint with Jacob Cofie or Gabe Dynes out there for USC. Perhaps the biggest flaw though in USC’s defense is their inability to secure defensive rebounds where they’re just 251st since both Cofie and Ausar are below average for bigs in that category. If the Huskies win this game it’s because Hannes Steinbach has 5+ offensive rebounds and the Dawgs score 12+ points on putback attempts to make up for a subpar half court offense.

Washington’s effort for 35 minutes against UCLA (minus the first two and final three) just wasn’t good enough to beat a team at USC’s level. The hope is that furious comeback may galvanize Washington and show them that they can’t just rely on turning on the jets at the end which means playing that way all game long. If USC is missing Rice and Dickerson then there is a path to winning this game. I’m just going to need to see Washington beat a top 50 opponent though before I’m willing to give the Huskies and Coach Sprinkle the benefit of the doubt, even if Hannes Steinbach is going to be the best player on the court.