Southern California off to hot start, but so is next foe Manhattan

Southern California returns to action in Los Angeles on Sunday when it hosts Manhattan, and the Trojans aim to carry over the red-hot offense from their season-opening win Monday.

USC (1-0) tipped off its campaign Monday with a 94-64 rout of Cal Poly in which the Trojans scored a whopping 57 points in the second half. USC relied on a balanced scoring attack, reminiscent of coach Eric Musselman's first season at the helm when six Trojans averaged between 9.4 and 15.8 points per game. However, it was a new-look lineup sharing the wealth.

Musselman was faced with replacing 2024-25 leading scorers Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates III -- both now at Big Ten Conference-rival Washington -- as well as Chibuzo Agbo, Saint Thomas and Rashaun Agee.

In their places, Virginia transfer Jacob Cofie, Utah transfer Ezra Ausar and Maryland transfer Rodney Rice stepped up for 23, 21 and 21 points in Monday's win.

According to Rice, "This is just the start."

"I'm capable of playmaking, getting my teammates the ball where they want it and where they need it, and as the season goes on, I feel like I can improve in that as well," the junior guard said.

Last season at USC's Big Ten counterpart Maryland, Rice averaged 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

For Manhattan (1-0), Sunday's matchup with USC marks a pitstop en route to Hawaii. The Jaspers play three contests in the Outrigger Rainbow Classic in Honolulu from Wednesday through next Saturday.

Manhattan opened its 2025-26 season with a 125-59 blowout of NCAA Division III program St. Joseph's Brooklyn.

Terrance Jones shot 5 of 8 from 3-point range en route to 21 points, leading seven Jaspers who scored in double-figures. Jones transferred to Manhattan from perennial MEAC contender Norfolk State.

The Jaspers improved from seven wins in coach John Gallagher's first season, 2023-24, to 17 victories a season ago. Their impending Western swing is a cornerstone for greater aspirations in 2025-26, Gallagher told the Riverdale Press.

"This standard keeps improving and the wins become a byproduct of it," Gallagher said. "Instead of me sitting here saying, let's go win 20-25 games and get into the tournament, let's continue to make sure that we're doing all the right things on and off the floor, and then the process will take care of itself."

--Field Level Media