Who’s Playing
Michigan Wolverines @ USC Trojans
Current Records: Michigan 10-3, USC 9-4
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Big Ten matchup on schedule as the Michigan Wolverines and the USC Trojans are set to tip at 8:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Galen Center. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Michigan is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to wrap up 2024 than the 112-64 stomp they got against Western Kentucky. With the Wolverines ahead 59-31 at the half, the match was all but over already.
Michigan’s success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nimari Burnett led the charge by going 5 for 8 en route to 17 points plus five rebounds and two steals. The dominant performance also gave Burnett a new career-high in threes (five). Another player making a difference was Vladislav Goldin, who went 7 for 8 en route to 17 points plus five rebounds.
Michigan was working as a unit and finished the game with 21 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Western Kentucky only posted five.
Meanwhile, USC came tearing into last Sunday’s matchup with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 23.7 points) and they left with even more momentum. They took their contest with ease, bagging an 82-51 win over the Jaguars. The margin was wide but not a surprise since the spread was 15.5 in the Trojans’ favor.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead USC to victory, but perhaps none more so than Josh Cohen, who posted 17 points in addition to two steals. Cohen is trending in the right direction considering he’s improved his point production for three straight games. Chibuzo Agbo was another key player, going 6 for 11 en route to 18 points plus two steals.
Michigan pushed their record up to 10-3 with the victory, which was their seventh straight at home. As for USC, their win bumped their record up to 9-4.
Saturday’s game is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Michigan has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 39.8 rebounds per game. It’s a different story for USC, though, as they’ve been averaging only 32.1. Given Michigan’s sizable advantage in that area, USC will need to find a way to close that gap.
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