The Lake Tahoe area will host an early-season opportunity for a signature win when Wichita State and No. 21 Southern California meet Sunday in Stateline, Nev.
The Trojans and Shockers both opened the season with double-digit home wins. Wichita State came on strong late to hold off Cal State Northridge 79-67 on Wednesday, while USC rolled past Milwaukee 95-63 on Monday.
Blue-chip freshmen Darius Ratliff and Adonis Ratliff made impressive debuts in USC’s season opener. Darius Ratliff scored 14 points and blocked five shots, while Adonis Ratliff had a game-high 25 points, six rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.
The highly anticipated first-time pairing of Alijah Arenas and Rodney Rice in the backcourt also delivered. Arenas tallied 21 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Rice recorded 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds in his first game in almost a year.
Although Arenas and Rice finished the 2025-26 season as two of USC’s statistical leaders, the duo never shared the court. Arenas missed the first two months of the season because of a knee injury sustained in a car accident, while Rice suffered a shoulder injury during the Trojans’ Thanksgiving-week run to the Maui Invitational championship.
“Their chemistry’s been really good,” USC coach Eric Musselman said of the Arenas-Rice tandem, citing their performances in exhibition games as well as Monday’s opener. “They’re playing off each other.”
USC is not without injury concerns this season, however. Big man Jacob Cofie was limited to nine minutes Monday because of what Musselman called “severe back spasms.”
“Am I concerned about him playing (against) Wichita (State)? Yeah, for sure,” he said.
The Shockers also got big efforts from their top players in their opener. Will Berg, a preseason American Conference first-team all-league selection, scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and added 16 rebounds. Both totals were career highs.
Kenyon Giles, the Shockers’ leading scorer in 2025-26 at 19.1 points per game, added 21 points in the opener.
Berg and Giles headline a veteran-laden roster for the preseason pick to win the American in 2026-27. Wichita State also returns preseason second-team all-conference selections Jordan Frison and Dillon Battie.
Battie and T.J. Williams did not play Wednesday for precautionary reasons, with Shockers coach Paul Mills citing a “soft-tissue” injury.
“I’d be surprised if one of the two isn’t available for Sunday,” Mills said. “We just told them there’s no reason to push it.”
Mills said the Shockers “will need Dillon and TJ back” against USC, adding, “They’re two of the top five returning scorers we had a year ago.”
Williams averaged 8.7 points per game last season, and Battie averaged 7.6. Both also grabbed about five rebounds per game, production that could be critical against a rangy Trojans lineup. USC’s roster features six players 6-foot-10 or taller, while Wichita State has just three.
With Battie and Williams out of the rotation Wednesday, the Shockers were outrebounded 48-47 by Cal State Northridge.
–Field Level Media
