Second-season Eric Musselman is a different beast. At the past two programs he coached at – Nevada and Arkansas – his second campaign with both teams were tremendously successful. He boasts a 53-14 record in those two seasons combined, leading both of the programs to the NCAA tournament with Arkansas having an elite eight appearance. This season with the Trojans has been no different.
Currently sitting at 8-0 and nationally ranked for the first time since 2023, USC basketball looks revitalized, dominating the opponents they should and coming out with close victories against harder teams.
“Every game takes on its own identity,” Musselman said.
His squad found themselves ranked 24th in the country in the AP poll earlier this week, and one spot higher at 23rd in the NET rankings. This is largely thanks to the guard play of junior Rodney Rice and graduate Chad Baker-Mazara who are both averaging over 20 points per game.
Their next test will be against a 5-3 Washington Huskies team whose record doesn’t do them justice. All three of their losses have come to very good opponents, falling to an undefeated Colorado squad, a one-loss Baylor team, and a heartbreaking two-point defeat against UCLA.
The Huskies are led by two former Trojan guards, senior Desmond Claude and sophomore Wesley Yates III.
“Hopefully Wesley and Desmond look back at their time here fondly,” Musselman said. “In today’s landscape, change happens and we feel fortunate we got to coach them here.”
While Claude played a larger significant amount of minutes than Yates last season under Musselman, he has been less impactful so far this season.
Yates has been miles better scoring wise, averaging 16.3 points a game compared to Claude’s 10.3. Claude has also been very inefficient, shooting just 31.9% from the field, a monumental drop from last season when he shot over 48% with USC.
While both guards will provide trouble for the Trojans, it’s 6-foot-11 freshman center Hannes Steinbach that they have to gameplan around. Before coming to America, he dominated for the German national team, leading them to a silver medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup and finished as the leading scorer against the United States.
When asked about Steinback, Musselman said, “Obviously he is a huge factor in this game. We have to be ready for his presence on the offensive glass.”
Through his first five games with Washington, he is averaging 17.4 points on 64.2% shooting while grabbing 12.2 rebounds a contest. Oh, and he can also hit the long ball when he decides to shoot it, going 2-of-3 from beyond the arc so far. Literally and figuratively, USC has a tall task on their hands.
While all seems good in the land of Troy, there is one big question mark and worry for the team: the health of Rodney Rice.
Although Musselman claimed he was day-to-day, there is speculation that he could miss an extended period of time. In his absence, players such as sophomore forward Jacob Cofie and senior forward Ezra Ausar will be expected to pick up the production he will leave behind. While Trojan fans are hopeful Rice returns soon, it is very unlikely he suits up tomorrow.
“Injuries have hit us but nobody feels sorry for us but we did a good job assembling a roster,” Musselman said. “The locker room has a mentality of next man up.”
Although Rice’s injury status doesn’t look ideal, Musselman delivered a positive injury update of five-star freshman guard Alijah Arena’s rehab is going well and could be available as soon as mid-January.
Regardless of injuries, the Trojans will aim to shut down Yates and Claude and take home their ninth straight victory of the season on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the Huskies.