Hot-shooting USC rolls wire-to-wire against Iowa

Southern California shot a torrid 64.9 percent from the floor and four Trojans scored at least 18 points in a wire-to-wire, 99-89 win over Iowa on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

USC (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten) came out hot, scoring the game's first five points and never looking back on the way to back-to-back league wins for the first time in the program's brief time in its new conference.

Desmond Claude, coming off a season-high 31-point performance in the Trojans' upset of then-No. 13 Illinois on Saturday, delivered an encore of 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

Claude's outstanding all-around performance paced USC's balanced scoring effort, which included 24 points from Saint Thomas on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor; 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from Wesley Yates III; and 18 points on another 8-of-11 shooting night from Chibuzo Agbo.

Thomas added nine rebounds and seven assists, while Rashaun Agee contributed nine points and 10 boards off the bench.

USC shot 37 of 57 from the field, including 10 of 15 from 3-point distance. The Trojans also notched a 37-20 rebounding advantage.

Iowa (12-5, 3-3) trailed by as many as 19 points in the second half but went on a 24-10 run to pull within five with 4:35 remaining. Payton Sandfort scored 11 points in the surge, hitting three 3-pointers.

Claude helped snuff out the rally with a pair of free throws, contributing to his 10-of-12 performance at the foul line, and then he capped a fastbreak with an assist to Thomas. After the quick four-point burst, USC held a cushion of at least eight points the rest of the game.

The 99 points were the Trojans' most this season, and the second-highest total the Hawkeyes have allowed in 2024-25. Iowa surrendered 116 points in a loss to Wisconsin earlier this month.

Owen Freeman led the Hawkeyes with 23 points, and Sandfort added 20 points. Drew Thelwell had 16 points, Josh Dix put up 13 and Brock Harding had eight points, eight assists and three steals.

--Field Level Media