Tag: Desmond Claude

USC men’s basketball gets another big win, takes down Nebraska on the road

USC already has several road wins in Big Ten play. The Trojans are punching back in their new conference.

After falling short against a very good Wisconsin team on Saturday, USC men’s basketball is back in the win column in the Big Ten. On Wednesday night, the Trojans traveled to Nebraska and took down the Huskers, 78-73. The victory improved the Trojans to 12-7 on the season, 4-4 in conference play. Three of USC’s four conference losses have come against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

It was another big night for Desmond Claude, who led the Trojans with 21 points. Wesley Yates III added 17 points of his own, while Reshaun Agee had 14 and eight rebounds. Nebraska native Saint Thomas, playing in his home state, had 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Following Wednesday’s victory, the Trojans have now won three of their past four games. Up next: the first Crosstown Showdown of the season against UCLA on Monday night, January 27, at Galen Center. USC is still not in good position to make the NCAA Tournament. However, if USC can deliver wins in Galen against UCLA and then several days later against Michigan State on February 1, the Trojans will definitely be in the middle of the bubble conversation.

Eric Musselman, USC players discuss playing time, finding a lineup that works

Allocating bench minutes is a work in progress for Eric Musselman at USC this season.

USC men’s basketball delivered back-to-back Big Ten victories this past week. After upsetting No. 13 Illinois on the road Saturday, the Trojans took down Iowa at home Tuesday night. The fun ended on Saturday in a loss to Wisconsin, but the Trojans definitely took some forward steps in their season.

In both the Illinois and Iowa games, the Trojans had at least three players play 35 or more minutes. Head coach Eric Musselman discussed leaving his starters in for the vast majority of the Iowa game, attributing his decisions to the influence of a notable NBA coach.

“Tom Thibodeau’s arguably one of my best friends,” Musselman said. “Check out the Knicks’ box scores.”

Following Tuesday’s game, both Saint Thomas and Desmond Claude noted that they asked for breathers in the second half, and Musselman told them both no.

Musselman did concede, however, that despite heavy minutes for the Trojans’ starters, “we have to develop our bench.”

Against Wisconsin, five USC players played at least 30 minutes, and three played at least 36 minutes. The one player other than the core five who played more than mop-up minutes was Kevin Patton, with 15.

Desmond Claude hits 1,000 career points in USC’s victory over Iowa

Desmond Claude is piling up the points for USC. As a result, he notched a college career milestone in the win over Iowa.

Tuesday night’s USC men’s basketball victory over Iowa was notable for several reasons. For one, the Trojans won their second straight game to get back to .500 in Big Ten play. USC’s 99 points were also the most the Trojans scored in a regulation conference game in more than two decades. In addition, with his 25-point outburst Tuesday, USC junior guard Desmond Claude officially hit the 1,000-point mark for his college career.

Claude originally signed with Xavier out of high school. After coming off the bench as a freshman, Claude became a starter last season and quickly became one of the team’s top scorers, averaging 16.6 points per game.

After entering the transfer portal last offseason, Claude elected to come to USC and play for first-year head coach Eric Musselman. The pairing has proved to be successful thus far. Claude has started 16 of the Trojans’ 17 games to date, averaging 16.4 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.0 rebounds per game.

Just 2.5 years into his college career, Claude has already scored 1,000 points. If he keeps playing at his current pace, there is no telling what he and the Trojans might accomplish next.

Xavier transfer Desmond Claude brings Big East savvy to USC basketball

Desmond Claude thrived in a tough Big East Conference. Eric Musselman recognized that.

Xavier transfer Desmond Claude from Putnam Academy in Putnam (Connecticut) has transferred to USC basketball and Eric Musselman. Claude won the Big East Most Improved Player Award last year by averaging 16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Musketeers. Claude shot 42.6 percent from the field, but only 23.9 percent from 3-point range last season.

He’s the No. 41 overall prospect in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings and the No. 9 point guard on the board. Coming out of high school, he was ranked No. 101 overall in the 2022 class.

“The vision that Coach Musselman laid out for me blends perfectly with my playmaking ability, NBA aspirations and ongoing development as a lead guard,” he said. “I’m excited to make the next big jump in my development and I’m especially excited to be a part of the USC family.”

Claude will likely start at point guard this upcoming season for the Trojans and coach Musselman.

One of the key attributes Claude brings to USC is Big East experience. He went up against national champion UConn, No. 2 seed (in the 2024 NCAA Tournament) Marquette, and No. 3 seed Creighton, among others, in a tough and rugged conference. That set of encounters against quality competition should help Claude — and Musselman — as they team together this season at USC.

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USC basketball looks for high-end transfers to round out 2025 roster

Eric Musselman is trying to land the added transfer portal piece which can make a difference for USC.

USC head coach Eric Mussleman is trying to get high-level transfer portal prospects to fill out his roster for the 2025 college basketball season. A new name on the list: Desmond Claude of Xavier. Claude averaged 16.6 points per game last season, playing in the cutthroat Big East, the same league as national champion UConn. Claude would be a big-time get for Musselman and USC, but the coach knows he has to look elsewhere as well.

Musselman has also been in contact with Manhattan small forward and guard Seydou Traore.

Traore just wrapped up his freshman season and averaged 11.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. Traore was the third-best freshman rebounder in the country. He has three more years of eligibility remaining.

Traore shot 43% from the field in his freshman campaign. Traore earned MAAC All-Freshman and All-Defense honors.

He has also received interest from at least 16 other schools in addition to USC, with some of those schools including Florida State, Ole Miss, West Virginia, Marquette, Clemson and Oregon.

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