5 things to watch as USC men's basketball takes on Washington State

USC men's basketball is back in the win column. After suffering a frustrating loss against Washington last weekend, the Trojans took down San Diego on Tuesday to improve to 9-1 on the season. It wasn't always pretty, but the Trojans got it done.

That's kind of the name of the game for the Trojans for the rest of this calendar year. USC has 3 more non conference games to finish off 2025, before restarting Big Ten conference play on January 2, all of which the Trojans should be expected to win. Without key players such as Alijah Arenas, Rodney Rice and Amarion Dickerson, the Trojans just need to survive and get it done and hope those players can return to the lineup early in 2026.

So, USC turns its attention to Washington State. Here are five things to watch as USC takes on the Cougars on Sunday evening in search of the Trojans' tenth win of the season:

Changes to the starting lineup?

USC has shuffled its starting lineup a little bit this season, mostly due to injuries. But on Tuesday against the Toreros, the Trojans made a significant non-injury related lineup change, swapping Ryan Cornish into the starting five and moving Terrance Williams II to the bench.

Here's what Eric Musselman said about the lineup change after the game:

"We need to get something out of all five starters," Musselman said. "We felt like Ryan had the right mentality. We felt like Ryan would move the ball, and then defensively, Ryan took a couple of charges. He's given us a little bit of a defensive intensity and some toughness that I thought we needed."

Will Cornish continue to start moving forward, or was that just a one-time, matchup related decision? If Cornish is back on the bench, will Williams II return to the starting five or will someone else take his place? Let's keep an eye on all of that.

Can Chad Baker-Mazara continue his historic streak?

Ever since star USC guard Rodney Rice went down with injury during the Maui Invitational, Chad Baker-Mazara has been excellent offensively as the Trojans' clear primary scoring option.

He scored 31 points against San Diego, making him the first USC player to score 20 or more points in four straight games since Byron Wesley in 2013-14.

Will he make it five straight? Or will the Cougars be the first team to figure out how to slow him down?

Can USC tighten things up defensively?

This has been a season-long storyline that becomes more relevant in this game. USC has dramatically exceeded expectations on the offensive side of the ball, but the tough defensive identity that is typical of Eric Musselman-led teams hasn't shown up nearly as prominently.

USC is allowing 78.5 points per game and allowing its opponents to shoot 41% from the field. That's not awful, and they have won in spite of it, but it's not elite. Those totals make the Trojans tied for 286th in the country in opponent points per game allowed and 102nd in the country in opponent field goal percentage allowed.

Playing Washington State represents an opportunity for the Trojans to tighten things up on that side of the basketball. The Cougars have struggled to score in their last three games. Their opponents have held them to under 64 points in each of their last 3 outings, all losses.

Could this be a confidence-building game for the Trojans defensively?

This could be a needed morale boost for Washington State

Speaking of confidence boosters, there are few teams in the entire country that could use a pick me up more than Washington State. The Cougars are 3-7 on the season, and have lost to several programs from smaller conferences that would historically be considered inferior. None of their wins have inspired much confidence either.

If the Cougars can find a way to beat the Trojans, or at least remain competitive until the bitter end, that could help turn their season around.

On the other hand, if the Trojans hand them a massive blowout and send their season spiraling to a new low, it's just going to make it that much harder for the Cougars to turn their season around.

A homecoming for Ace Glass

One of Washington State's most exciting players, Ace Glass, is from Southern California. Glass grew up in Rialto, CA and went to Rancho Cucamonga High School.

The freshman guard is certainly the Cougars' most dangerous player. He has averaged 16.6 points per game this season, and had a 40-point outing versus Arizona State in the Maui Invitational. But he struggles with consistency and efficiency.

Could Glass be motivated by being back in Southern California? Will his friends and family from the area come watch and fuel him to the best performance of his young career?

Or can the Trojans force him into a poor shooting night?

It's a clear battle of wills between these former Pac-12 rivals, and it could turn out to be a Christmas season classic.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men's basketball faces Washington State Cougars at Galen Center