Southern California returns home to Los Angeles for the first time in 2026 on Tuesday to host slumping Big Ten Conference counterpart Maryland.
The Trojans (13-3, 2-3 Big Ten) ended their three-game road swing on a high note Friday, recovering from a second-half meltdown to beat Minnesota 70-69 in overtime.
USC squandered a 13-point edge in regulation, but Chad Baker-Mazara capped a 29-point performance on a pair of clutch free throws with 10 seconds remaining in overtime to give USC the win.
The rollercoaster victory salvaged an important, early-season trek for the Trojans after blowout losses at Michigan and Michigan State. The two Top 25-ranked opponents beat USC by 30 and 29 points, respectively.
“This was a game we had to have,” Trojans coach Eric Musselman said. “Now we’ve got our legs underneath us, and hopefully we have some good news with Alijah Arenas coming back.”
The upcoming addition of blue-chip freshman prospect Arenas, who sustained a knee injury before the season, marks USC’s second major roster shakeup since a rash of early-season absences. The Trojans also integrated Kam Woods before the holiday break, a transfer from Robert Morris brought in to alleviate the void left with Rodney Rice suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Mired with its own injury issues, Maryland (7-9, 0-5) visits Galen Center for the first time in program history. Leading scorer Pharrel Payne has not played since Dec. 13 and the Terps played the first month of the season without forward Solomon Washington.
Washington has grabbed at least 12 rebounds in four of Maryland’s last five games, including a 67-55 loss at UCLA on Saturday. He was held to four points, however, as the Terps’ offense struggled in their third consecutive loss.
Maryland battled back from a 17-point halftime deficit to pull within five late, but surrendered a big UCLA run down the stretch.
“It is encouraging that our response in the second half was good,” Terps coach Buzz Williams said. “We’ve got to continue to find ways to put it together from start to finish, instead of playing from behind.”
Elijah Saunders finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double this season. He is averaging 8.9 points and five rebounds per game.
–Field Level Media
