Southern California will chase its first three-game winning streak in its two seasons in the Big Ten Conference during a matchup with Penn State on Sunday in the program’s first visit to State College, Pa.
The Trojans (17-6, 6-6 Big Ten) saw highly regarded freshman Alijah Arenas deliver a breakout game with 29 points and six rebounds in an 81-75 home victory over Indiana on Tuesday.
Arenas, the son of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas, was playing in just his fifth game after starting the season with a knee injury.
“My team kept me level-headed, kept me together,” Arenas said after the victory. “Without my team, I kind of started losing myself, which is why I’m grateful to have them. And then I keep the mental side of just continuing to play, no matter what happens.”
Kam Woods scored 18 points for USC, while Ezra Ausar had 12 points with seven rebounds. Leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara (18.3 points per game) was held to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting.
A home victory over Rutgers preceded the win over Indiana and now the Trojans hit the road where they are 3-3 in Big Ten play. They have road victories at Oregon, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Penn State (10-13, 1-11) ended an eight-game losing streak with a home victory over Minnesota last weekend but was crushed 110-69 at No. 2 Michigan on Thursday. The Nittany Lions had just eight players available due to injury and illness and were without starters Eli Rice and Ivan Juric.
Freddie Dilione V scored 19 points with seven rebounds, while Josh Reed and Melih Tunca had 15 points each.
“We knew the situation we were in,” Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “I felt we had to make 10 to 12 (3-pointers) to give ourselves a chance today, and we didn’t, but we didn’t stop them.”
Penn State’s defense was shredded by 60.6% shooting from Michigan, including 51.7% from 3-point range. It was outrebounded 44-21 and outscored from the bench 43-10.
The Nittany Lions are next to last in the Big Ten by allowing 79.7 points per game and last in field-goal percentage allowed (50.1). They have the youngest team in the nation, with freshman Kayden Mingo scoring 13.7 points, with 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals.
