Cal State Fullerton (2-1) at USC (2-1)
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 | 8:05 p.m.
at Los Angeles • Galen Center
 

Game Coverage: Live Stats | Audio | CSF Release      | USC Release  | TV: Pac-12

SERIES RECORDS
Overall: USC leads 3-0
Galen Center: 0-1

CATCH ALL THE ACTION

Television: Pac-12 Network

Broadcasters:

Ted Robinson and Don MacLean

Streaming Video: NA

Streaming Audio: www.fullertontitans.com

Radio: 710 AM KSPN

Live Stats: Live in-game stats are available at www.usctrojans.com.

TICKETS: Single-game tickets for all home games can be purchased online at www.FullertonTitans.com as well as in person or by calling the Cal State Fullerton Athletics Ticket Office at (657) 278-2783 from the hours of 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. On gamedays, tickets can be purchased one hour prior to tip-off at the Titan Gym ticket box office.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow @FullertonHoops for updates during the 2013-14 season.

SCOUTING THE TROJANS:  USC enters Tuesday's game with a record of 2-1. The Trojans opened the year with a 78-65 loss at Utah State, but rebounded with wins over Cal State Northridge (95-79; Nov. 12) and Northern Arizona (67-63; Nov. 15). USC will be playing its third straight game at home, compared to the Titans, who are opening their season with four of five on the road. Byron Wesley leads the Trojans averaging 20.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game under first-year USC head coach  Andy Enfield.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. USC: Tuesday's game at the Galen Center will be the fourth meeting between the two programs as USC leads the all-time series 3-0. In the last meeting, on Nov. 24, 2010 at the Galen Center, USC guard Maurice Jones scored 20 points and 6-foot-10 forwards Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson combined for 26 rebounds as USC pulled away in the second half for an 81-54 win. Tuesday will mark just the second time the Titans visit the Galen Center after it opened on Oct. 21, 2006.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. THE PAC: USC is the only team from the Pac-12 Conference on Cal State Fullerton's 2013-14 non-conference schedule although the Titans could meet up with Arizona State in the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy. Fullerton holds a record of 7-35 against teams currently in the Pac-12, and a 5-31 mark against Pac-12 teams on the road. 

Last Pac-12 Game: Fullerton's last game against a Pac-12 foe was a 74-72 loss at Washington on Dec. 2, 2012. In that game, Alex Harris drilled a game-tying three-pointer from the right corner with just seconds remaining in the game, but a pair of free throws by C.J. Wilcox after a foul on the ensuing inbound pass proved to be the difference. 

Last Pac-12 Win: On Dec. 7, 2011, Kwame Vaughn scored 18 points and D. J. Seeley added 17 as Cal State Fullerton rolled to a record-tying 81-50 non-conference victory at Utah during the Utes first year as a member of the Pac-12. The Titans matched the school record for margin of victory on the road over a non-conference opponent. 

TAYLOR AGAINST USC: During Dedrique Taylor's time as an assistant and associate head coach at Arizona State (2007-13), the Sun Devils and Trojans played one another 16 times, with series even at 7-7.  (Two USC wins were vacated from 2008 due to NCAA penalties, as the original record was 9-7, in favor of USC.)

HOME OPENERS: After defeating Santa Clara, 86-73, on Saturday afternoon at Titan Gym, Cal State Fullerton boasts a record of 28-14 in home openers at Titan Gym, including 10 straight. 

HOME SWEET HOME: Cal State Fullerton is playing four of its first five games on the road - having already traveled to Montana State and Seattle - the Titans make the short trip to USC on Tuesday before packing their bags for a game at San Jose State (Nov. 23). Following the team's return from the Bay Area, Titan Gym will host the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy tournament, and Fullerton's first game will be played against currently 25th-ranked Marquette.

INJURY UPDATE: Cal State Fullerton senior forward James Johnson is currently listed as day-to-day with a left foot injury.

ROSTER STATUS: Cal State Fullerton currently has 16 student-athletes listed on its roster, with 11 players having seen game action thus far in 2013-14. Corey Walker and Moses Morgan must redshirt the season due to NCAA transfer rules. Freshman guard Hidde Vos and junior guard James Douglas are expected to redshirt the season.

EARLY SEASON NOTES: Head coach Dedrique Taylor earned his first win as a head coach after the Titans defeated Montana State, 84-55, in Bozeman, Mont., on Saturday…Taylor is the fifth Titan head coach to win his first game at Cal State Fullerton…Cal State Fullerton won its season opener against a Division I opponent for the first time since a 75-67 win at BYU on Nov. 22, 1996 (the 2007-08 season opener was played against CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners as the program was in transition to Div. I status)…Cal State Fullerton's 29-point victory at Montana State was its largest margin of victory on the road since an 81-50 win at Utah on Dec. 7, 2011... Fullerton has eclipsed 80 points two times this season…Fullerton has recorded two wins by double digits...Fullerton has led by double digits in each of their three games this season, and the Titans have never trailed by more than eight points.

IN THE BIG WEST: Cal State Fullerton currently ranks in the top three of several statistical categories in the Big West Conference: scoring offense (3rd; 80.3 ppg), scoring margin (2nd; +12.7 ppg), field goal percentage (2nd; .506), three-point field goal percentage (1st; .426); rebounding margin (1st; +7.3 ppg), assist-to-turnover margin (t-3rd; 1.09), three-point field goals per game (3rd; 7.67).

MORE STATS: Junior guard Alex Harris averages 17.7 points per game, ranking third in the Big West...senior Marquis Horne's shooting percentage of .577 ranks fifth in the league...Steve McClellan's 3.0 offensive rebounds per game rank fourth in the Big West.

OUT OF THE GATE EARLY: In the first half this season, Cal State Fullerton has outscored its opponents 127-87 while shooting 54.3 percent from the floor and 46.2 percent from three-point range. In addition, Fullerton is near perfect from the free-throw line, knocking down 15-of-17 attempts. In the second half, Cal State Fullerton has been outscored 116-114 and the Titans' shooting percentage has dropped to 46.4 percent including just 39.3 percent from three-point range and 69.4 percent (25-of-36) from the free-throw line.

COMMONALITIES: What is statistically common in Cal State Fullerton's two wins this season? In both victories, the Titans scored more than 80 points, shot more 50.0 percent from the floor, shot 50.0 percent from three-point range, knocked down more three-pointers than their opponents and totaled more assists than their opponents.

DOUBLE FIGURES:  In three games, Cal State Fullerton has totaled 11 double-digit scoring performances as veterans Marquis Horne and Alex Harris have reached double figures on three occasions along with senior transfer Michael Williams.

MORE COMPARISONS:  The Titans have outscored opponents 98-60 in the paint this year.

AIR TIME: Currently, six Cal State Fullerton men's basketball games are set to be  broadcast on television, starting with last Wednesday's game in Seattle, which was aired on ROOT Sports Northwest. In addition, Fullerton's game at USC on Tuesday will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Each of Fullerton's three games at the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy Tournament will be aired on the ESPN family of networks. Fullerton's contest against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 25 will be aired on Fox Sports Prime Ticket from Titan Gym.

A NEW ERA BEGINS: Former Arizona State associate head men's basketball coach and long-time college assistant Dedrique Taylor was appointed the 11th men's basketball head coach in Cal State Fullerton history, Athletic Director Jim Donovan announced on April 3, 2013.

"I think Dedrique is a perfect fit for the Cal State Fullerton program," Donovan said at the time. "His ties to Southern California will help us immensely in our recruiting efforts and his experience in a major conference like the Pac-12 will serve him well in helping bring our program into the upper echelons of the Big West Conference and compete for championships."

A NEW LOOK: Of the 16 players on Cal State Fullerton's roster, 10 had not suited up in a Cal State Fullerton uniform before the 2013-14 season. 

REPLACING OFFENSE: Cal State Fullerton lost 60 percent of its scoring from last season with the departure of seniors Sammy Yeager (15.8 ppg), Kwame Vaughn (18.4 ppg) and D.J. Seeley (17.9 ppg).

Junior Alex Harris averaged 10.5 points per game last season, but averaged 14.3 points per game over the final eight games of the year, including a season-best 22 points at Cal Poly on March 9, 2013. 

TITANS IN THE NBA: Former Cal State Fullerton men's basketball player Josh Akognon became the 12th former Titan to appear in the NBA on April 10, 2013 playing four minutes and scoring two points to go with an assist for the Dallas Mavericks in their 102-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns at the American Airlines Center.

Akognon, who played two seasons for Fullerton from 2007-09, became the first Titan to appear in an NBA game since Bobby Brown (2003-07) competed for the New Orleans Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009-10 season. 

DIRECTV WOODEN LEGACY: Tickets for the seventh annual Wooden Legacy, a multi-team collegiate basketball tournament are currently on sale.  Eight teams are competing in the highly anticipated event: Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton, College of Charleston, Creighton, George Washington, Marquette, Miami and San Diego State.

The tournament will be held at two sites over the 2013 Thanksgiving weekend, with the opening two rounds being played at Cal State Fullerton November 28 & 29, and four placement contests featuring the championship game Sunday, December 1 at Honda Center. 

All-session tickets and individual tickets for Championship Sunday are available at www.ticketmaster.com, via phone at (800) 745-3000, and all Ticketmaster outlets, and at the Honda Center Box Office.