No. 23 USC, Oklahoma lean on defenses in San Diego final

Defenses will be the focus when No. 23 Southern California faces Oklahoma on Friday for the championship in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. USC (4-1) held off Seton Hall in the second semifinal on Thursday after the Trojans nearly coughed up a 20-point, second-half lead. The Pirates cut the deficit to three points with four minutes remaining, but a USC defense keyed by Joshua Morgan’s program-record 10 blocked shots and Kobe Johnson’s five

Seton Hall looks to stay unbeaten in clash with No. 23 USC

Seton Hall will aim to continue its undefeated start to the season against No. 23 Southern California on Thursday in opening-round play at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego. USC (3-1) will make the short trip south for the four-team event, which also features Iowa and Oklahoma. The Trojans rebounded from a 70-60 loss on Nov. 14 to UC Irvine with an 81-70 defeat of Brown on Sunday, although USC needed a 15-4 run

No. 16 Southern California looks to rebound, faces Brown

No. 16 Southern California looks to bounce back from a surprising loss when it welcomes Ivy League member Brown to Los Angeles on Sunday. USC (2-1) suffered a 70-60 setback on Tuesday at home against UC Irvine, a game the Trojans played without veteran point guard Boogie Ellis and defensive stopper Kobe Johnson. The Trojans shot just 17 of 59 from the floor (28.8 percent) and committed 16 turnovers — seven by Isaiah Collier. He

Rivals UCLA, USC stumble into final Pac-12 showdown

Los Angeles rivals UCLA and host Southern California meet Saturday in the 93rd installment of their annual series. Both the Trojans (7-4, 5-3 Pac-12 Conference) and Bruins (6-4, 3-4) come into the matchup — the last before each leaves the Pac-12 for the Big Ten Conference — on losing streaks. USC dropped its second consecutive game last Saturday, 36-27 at Oregon. The Trojans lost the previous week at home to undefeated Washington, 52-42. “We’ve been

No. 16 USC goes for another big win, hosts UC Irvine

No. 16 Southern California continues its early-season homestand on Tuesday night when it hosts UC Irvine in Los Angeles. The Trojans (2-0) followed an 82-69 season-opening defeat of Kansas State in Las Vegas on Nov. 6 with an 85-59 blowout of Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday. USC never trailed in Thursday’s rout, which was the first of three home games for the Trojans before they travel to the San Diego area for a Thanksgiving weekend

With Pac-12 title game in sight, No. 6 Oregon welcomes USC

Sixth-ranked Oregon will try to move one game closer to reaching its fourth Pac-12 championship game in five seasons when it welcomes visiting Southern California to Eugene, Ore., on Saturday. The Ducks (8-1, 5-1) held firm at No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday, tops among all one-loss teams. They roll into Saturday’s matchup winners of three straight, all by at least 14 points, after last week’s 63-19 blowout of Cal. Quarterback

No. 21 USC ready to Boogie against Bakersfield

No. 21 Southern California will return to the Galen Center in Los Angeles to play its first home game of the season on Thursday night against Cal State Bakersfield. The Trojans (1-0) tipped off their campaign with an 82-69 win over Kansas State on Monday in Las Vegas. USC’s Boogie Ellis went for 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while highly touted freshman Isaiah Collier debuted with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the

No. 20 USC out to end No. 5 Washington’s unbeaten season

Looking to continue its perfect season, No. 5 Washington travels to Los Angeles on Saturday for a Pac-12 showdown with 20th-ranked Southern California. The Huskies (8-0, 5-0 Pac-12) arrive with a streak of four consecutive single-digit victories after holding off Stanford last Saturday, 42-33. The nine-point margin was Washington’s widest over the recent stretch, which also includes wins of 31-24 on Sept. 30 at Arizona; 36-33 on Oct. 14 vs. Oregon; and 15-7 on Oct.

No. 24 USC searches for offensive stride against Cal

Cal and No. 24 Southern California both come into their Saturday Pac-12 Conference matchup in Berkeley, Calif., looking to pull out of two-game losing streaks. USC (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) followed its first defeat of the 2023 season — a 48-20 rout on Oct. 14 at then-No. 21 Notre Dame — with its first conference loss last week, falling 34-32 to then-No. 14 Utah. The Trojans fought back from a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to pull ahead

No. 14 Utah aims to extend win streak over No. 18 USC

No. 14 Utah visits Los Angeles on Saturday night seeking its fourth straight win over No. 18 Southern California in Pac-12 Conference action. Utah (5-1, 2-1) handed USC its only loss of the 2022 regular season — a 43-42 nail-biter in Salt Lake City — then denied the Trojans both a conference title and possible berth in the College Football Playoff with a 47-24 rout in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Throughout the 2023 season, the