Long Beach St. faces USC
Long Beach State (3-7) vs. Southern California (8-2)
Galen Center, Los Angeles; Sunday, 6:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern California goes up against Long Beach State in a non-conference matchup. Southern California won over TCU 80-78 on Dec. 6, while Long Beach State fell 65-46 at home to Pacific last week.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Each team has relied heavily on their freshmen this year. Onyeka Okongwu, Nick Rakocevic, Jonah Mathews and Isaiah Mobley have collectively accounted for 67 percent of Southern California’s scoring this season and 64 percent of the team’s points over its last five games. For Long Beach State, Chance Hunter, Joshua Morgan and Romelle Mansel have combined to score 39 percent of the team’s points this season, including 44 percent of all Beach points over their last five.CLUTCH CHANCE: Hunter has connected on 51.6 percent of the 31 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 5 of 10 over the last three games. He’s also made 50 percent of his free throws this season.
SLIPPING AT 69: Long Beach State is 0-6 when it allows at least 69 points and 3-1 when it holds opponents to less than 69.
STREAK STATS: Long Beach State has lost its last four road games, scoring 63.3 points, while allowing 85 per game.
DID YOU KNOW: Southern California is ranked second in the Pac-12 with an average of 73.1 possessions per game. The uptempo Trojans have pushed that total to 75.4 possessions per game over their last three games.