The USC basketball programs don’t typically have doubleheaders in the Galen Center. Usually, one team has a homestand while the other team is out of town. Sometimes, the teams will play home games on consecutive nights.
Sunday, however, will be different. The men host Long Beach State at 1 p.m. local time in Los Angeles. The women play at 3:30, or 30 minutes after the end of the men’s game.
Little did anyone know that the men’s game against Long Beach State would involve the USC and college debut of Bronny James. News of this development broke on Thursday. It was not a long-planned event. It just happened to line up this way.
It could be great for USC basketball in general and the women’s program in particular.
Everyone wants to not only see Bronny play at USC home games, but also see LeBron watching his son play. LeBron fully intends to be at this Long Beach State game, since the Los Angeles Lakers have the day off on Sunday. That should help get fans inside the Galen Center even though USC basketball has struggled in recent weeks.
Assuming the crowd for the men’s game is a good one, everyone with a ticket can stay for the nightcap, the women’s game against UC Riverside.
The USC women’s team, led by superstar JuJu Watkins, is 7-0. The Women of Troy are No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Women’s College Basketball Poll. USC is likely to be unbeaten heading into its December 30 Pac-12 opener versus No. 2 UCLA.
If you go to the Galen Center on Sunday for Bronny James and the USC men, stay for JuJu Watkins and the USC women. Make a full day of it.
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