5 things to watch as USC men's basketball takes on UC Santa Cruz

On Sunday, the USC men’s basketball team will take on the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs at 1 pm at Galen Center.

The Trojans were initially scheduled to take on Brown University on Sunday, but USC and Brown mutually agreed to cancel the game after a mass shooting took place on Brown’s campus last weekend. At Trojans Wire, our thoughts and prayers have been with everyone affiliated with Brown University this week, and they will continue to be on our minds and in our hearts during this game.

Eric Musselman on a tragic event

Here is what USC head coach Eric Mussleman had to say about the tragedy at Brown University and the rescheduled game versus UC Santa Cruz:

“We are heartbroken by the tragedy on Brown University’s campus and extend our sincere condolences to the families and the entire Brown University community,” Musselman said. “We are thinking of them and wishing them strength during this extremely difficult time.”

“We want to thank UC Santa Cruz for coming in to play us on short notice. We’re looking forward to welcoming them and their program to play at USC, and we hope our fans will join us as we come together through the game—especially at this time of year. We invite everyone to be in the building, support both teams, and share in the spirit of community and togetherness as we head into the holidays.”

With that in mind, here are five things to watch as the Trojans take on UC Santa Cruz on Sunday to finish out their non conference schedule, hopefully undefeated:

Kam Woods’ collegiate debut?

On Thursday, the USC men’s basketball team made a rare roster move: adding a player in the middle of the season. The Trojans signed graduate guard Kam Woods, a star at Robert Morris last season, to their roster for the rest of the 2025-26 season, and he is eligible to play immediately despite the fact that he won’t be enrolling academically until the start of the spring semester.

Could Woods play on Sunday, just four days into his USC tenure? Not only is it extremely likely, but it’s also possible that he could be slotted immediately into the starting lineup.

Real value

Playing Woods in this game if he is in game shape is actually really important, given that it’s really his only chance to get some in-game action before Christmas break, and then when USC comes back, they will launch right into conference play in January.

Is this USC’s last chance to focus on in-game roster evaluation?

Given that the Trojans are taking on a Division III opponent, this is a game that USC should win with relative ease, at least on paper.

If the game goes as expected for the Trojans and they jump out to a big lead early, Eric Musselman will have an opportunity, potentially for the last time all season, to give his players unconventional minutes, roles and responsibility and see how they respond.

Gathering information

Remember, with basically an entirely new roster, seeing how this team plays together has been a learning experience for Musselman as much as USC fans. This may be his last best chance to learn anything about his roster that he’s still not sure about, if that’s the route he chooses to take.

Will Ryan Cornish have a chance to build on his excellent performance?

Ryan Cornish had easily his best performance as a Trojan on Wednesday against UTSA.

Cornish poured in 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting with 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. All of those tallies were season-highs.

Cornish was making his third start of the season. His role in the rotation has increased with the injuries to Amarion Dickerson, Rodney Rice and Alijah Arenas.

Cornish in context

Musselman had great things to say after the UTSA game about Cornish’s impactful play as of late:

“He’s been way more talkative. If you’re going to be a guard, you have to talk and communicate with your teammates, and you want leadership out of that position,” Musselman said. “And he’s given us all those things, and he’s earned it. Nothing was handed to Ryan at USC.”

I’m sure Cornish will get plenty of minutes in this game against UC Santa Cruz; I’m sure most of the roster will see some action. But do keep an eye on how Woods’s addition to the rotation impacts the minutes of Cornish and other guards like Jerry Easter II and Jordan Marsh. We will start to find out in this game.

USC’s frontcourt will likely carry the load

It’s a storyline nearly every time a Division I team takes on a team from a lower division. The Trojans are much, much bigger than UC Santa Cruz. Using that size advantage, especially in the front court, is a clear way for them to will their way to victory in games like this.

However, the Banana Slugs’ biggest player is also their best. Standing at 6’8”, center Joseph Espy is averaging 16 points and 8.7 rebounds per game for the Slugs. So, it’s not like Jacob Cofie and Ezra Ausar can cruise through this game. They need to be energized for it.

This game as a reflection of USC’s non conference schedule

The USC men’s basketball team has not exactly played a tough nonconference schedule. That’s especially evident when you compare it to the nonconference schedule the USC women’s basketball team has taken on.

With the exception of the Maui Invitational, the Trojans haven’t really played any teams from power conferences.

That reality, coupled with the fact that USC scheduled DIII UC Santa Cruz instead of a DI team to finish out its nonconference slate, brings comments that Eric Mussleman made about the situation into focus. Here is what he said:

“When you play this game, your margin of victory is important,” Musselman said. Do I agree with it? No, I think you should give other guys the opportunity to grow their game. They’re college students. But that game — we need to win by as much as we can. Again, not my rule. I’ve coached in the NBA and when the game gets up and its out of hand, you get guys minutes. I didn’t make the rule up, you guys. And so when we play a game and we win by 14 and we drop, I’m not going to do that. Like there’s no charity minutes. And that’s not a reflection of anybody on our team. But I’m playing the exact guys that I think that we can win by as many points as we possibly can. Because that’s what they tell us you’ve got to do. So that’s not me. I would love to empty the bench and put a walk-on in and reward him. But I don’t want to wake up tomorrow and drop seven spots. And neither does our team.”

Playing a DIII opponent does not affect the strength of schedule on USC’s tournament resume.

Tension point

Musselman’s argument is sound. If the way to get into the tournament is to win by a lot, schedule mismatches and then play into those mismatches as much as you possibly can.

But there’s another school of thought, which is that if you finish in the top few spots in the standings in a power conference, you’re going to make the tournament regardless. And, the best way to prepare for non conference games is to play conference opponents. The same conversation is happening in the college football world right now in relation to scheduling non conference opponents and making the college football playoff.

Musselman is certainly trying to balance that at least a little bit. While watching this game, let’s just keep that tension in the back of our minds as USC finishes non conference play and heads into the Big Ten season in January.

But also, let’s enjoy this one. Get around your friends and family, whether you’re watching at home or at the Galen Center, and celebrate the holiday season with the USC men’s basketball team.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: 5 things to watch as USC men’s basketball takes on UC Santa Cruz

Reporting by Ethan Inman, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire

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