November is around the corner and for No. 21 USC men’s basketball that means the start of the highly anticipated 2026-27 season.
The Trojans are coming off the back of a season where they fell just short of the NCAA tournament for the second time under head coach Eric Musselman, but with key returners, strong transfer portal additions and the No.7 ranked incoming freshman class according to ESPN, they will look to make their first postseason appearance since 2023.
So far, the Trojans have competed in three preseason exhibition games against UNC- Chapel Hill, UC San Diego and San Diego State University, where they went 2-1 overall.
“The exhibition games were great for us,” said senior guard Rodney Rice. “I think we got progressively better each game, we made less mistakes on defense and offense and are playing well together right now.”
Themes from the team’s first open practice on Wednesday, Oct. 28, included tempo and toughness as the Trojans were showing their ability to push the pace through lay up drills and offensive sets. They were also competing hard in defensive rebounding and close-out drills. A key trait for the Trojans this year is their athleticism and length on the defensive side Freshmen forward Adonis and center Darius Ratliff bring tremendous size at 6’11”, while forward Christian Collins stands at 6’9” – all of whom will help the Trojans deflect passes and protect the rim.
For Musselman, Wednesday’s practice focus was preparing for the home opener against the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Panthers on Monday Nov. 2.
“We are not going to overlook Milwaukee at all,” said Musselman.“We don’t have any film from their exhibition. They played two secret scrimmages, and then they play tonight. So, we are going to have to go off what we can piece together, which it’ll be a bit of a blind scout, [but] after that we should be able to scout everyone else pretty good.”
The return of sophomore guard Alijah Arenas will be essential to the Trojans success in this game, as he will look to have a bounce back year after missing the first 18 games of last season due to a meniscus injury in summer practices.
“I’m excited, just my confidence to keep growing, focus on what you want to focus on. Rebounding the ball more, passing the ball more, being more efficient and getting to the line more,” Arenas said when asked about his upcoming sophomore season.
The Trojans will look to start the season off strong in their first game of the season on Monday, Nov. 2 against Milwaukee at Galen Center at 7:30 p.m.
Edited by Adriana Brady and Sammie Vassallo