The USC men’s basketball team looks slightly different on each game day. It’s not haphazard changes, Coach Eric Musselman said, but rather intentional choices when it comes to starting lineups and playing time.
“We’re constantly reinventing ourselves,” Musselman said after the Trojans beat Maryland on Tuesday. Every game has a different identity. Just because someone has a great game tonight doesn’t mean that their role is going to be the same against Purdue.”
The No. 5 Boilermakers (16-1 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) come to Galen Center on Saturday for a 3 p.m. tipoff, and it could mean yet another revamped version of the Trojans (14-3, 3-3).
Alijah Arenas, whom USC previously said could make his college debut in mid-January, is not expected to play this week.
He seems to be moving around well, as seen in a 10-minute video posted by his father, former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, on Monday. Gilbert is seen taking his son through ball-handling and shooting drills, some of which feature the younger Arenas going up against defenders one-on-one.
“You’re not gonna get through my workout,” Gilbert says to someone off-camera, indicating the difficulty of the drills. “I design my workouts for peak shape.”
Musselman also said after the Maryland game that he didn’t know if leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara will be available on Saturday.
Baker-Mazara, a 6-foot-7 guard, is averaging 19.1 points per game in roughly 30 minutes of playing time but played only eight minutes against the Terrapins due to a sore neck.
“We’re missing a lot and we’re still 14-3,” Musselman said. “We’re going to roll with who’s practicing hard. It’s that point in the season where everybody gets a little banged up and we’ve got a group who practices so hard.”
If Baker-Mazara doesn’t play or is limited, the Trojans could lean on their bigger lineup that includes 6-9 forward Ezra Ausar, 6-10 forward Jacob Cofie and 7-5 center Gabe Dynes.
USC is 2-1 when using that starting rotation, including in the 88-71 victory over Maryland and the 102-63 win against UC Santa Cruz.
Purdue has the second-highest scoring offense in the conference and is averaging 86 points while outscoring opponents by 17.7 points. The Boilermakers get a boost from their bench, which is contributing 24.41 points per game and chipped in 21 points in the Boilermakers’ most recent 79-72 win against Iowa.
Purdue is efficient on offense. Six-foot-11 center Oscar Cluff is shooting 75.5% from the field for 11.8 points per game and 6-foot guard Braden Smith is shooting 48.9% to lead the team in scoring (14.2 ppg).
“Braden’s confidence – he likes every matchup,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter told reporters after beating Iowa. “(We were) letting him play in transition, letting him play with the basketball up there and then just making reads.”
Purdue will be USC’s fourth ranked opponent of the season. Currently, there are five Big Ten teams in the AP Top 25 poll: No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 12 Michigan State and No. 13 Illinois.
No. 5 PURDUE (16-1 overall, 6-0 Big Ten) at USC (14-3, 3-3)
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: Galen Center