USC looks to extend streak vs Washington St.
Southern California (11-2, 0-0) vs. Washington State (9-4, 0-0)
Wallis Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum, Pullman, Washington; Thursday, 10:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Southern California looks for its seventh straight win in the head-to-head series over Washington State. Southern California has won by an average of 14 points in its last six wins over the Cougars. Washington State's last win in the series came on Feb. 25, 2015, a 70-66 win.
PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE: Senior leadership could play a big role in this game's outcome. CJ Elleby, Jeff Pollard and Jervae Robinson have collectively scored 48 percent of Washington State's points this season. For Southern California, Onyeka Okongwu, Nick Rakocevic, Jonah Mathews and Isaiah Mobley have combined to account for 66 percent of all Southern California scoring.EFFECTIVE ELLEBY: Elleby has connected on 29.3 percent of the 82 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 7 for 22 over his last five games. He's also converted 80.9 percent of his foul shots this season.
UNBEATEN WHEN: The Cougars are 9-0 when holding opponents to 46.7 percent or worse from the field, and 0-4 when opponents shoot better than that. The Trojans are 9-0 when recording at least 10 offensive rebounds and 2-2 when they fall short of that total.
LONG-RANGE THREAT: Southern California's Mathews has attempted 81 3-pointers and connected on 37 percent of them, and is 9 for 23 over the past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Washington State has turned the ball over on just 15.5 percent of its possessions this season, which is the eighth-best rate among all Division I teams. The Cougars have turned the ball over only 11 times per game this season.
