Southern California will take an unblemished record into next week’s Maui Invitational if the Trojans get past visiting Troy on Thursday night in Los Angeles.
USC (3-0) will open its first-ever appearance at the prestigious Thanksgiving week tournament in Maui against Boise State, which also marks the Trojans’ first trip outside of the Los Angeles area this season.
On Friday in nearby Inglewood, Southern Cal played its first game away from the on-campus Galen Center, pouncing on Illinois State early, then holding off a Redbirds surge in the second half. USC’s Rodney Rice’s first career triple-double and just the second triple-double in Trojans history helped the team overcome the Redbirds 87-67.
“I never even had a double-double before,” said Rice, who finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He is averaging 18.7 points, 6 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game, commanding the offense in his new role as point guard.
Rice transferred to USC in the offseason from Maryland, where he played on the wing.
“That’s a big reason why I’m here,” he said of his decision. “It’s a great opportunity for me. To be honest, that’s always been in my game.”
For Troy (4-2), Thursday’s contest will conclude a four-game swing through Southern California that has seen the team open the trip with losses at Loyola Marymount and Cal State Northridge but peak with an upset of perennial Mountain West Conference contender San Diego State on Tuesday.
Thomas Dowd went for 25 points and 19 rebounds in a 108-107 double-overtime win, while Victor Valdes scored 20 points. Both lead Troy in scoring on the season at 16 points per game each, while Dowd is averaging a double-double at 11 rebounds per game.
“We went through some adversity at (Loyola Marymount and Northridge),” Troy coach Scott Cross said via the university’s athletic website after the victory in San Diego. “It’s all about how you respond to that adversity. There’s no way we could have responded any better. … This was a championship level effort.”
Tuesday was Troy’s third time clearing 100 points in a game this season, following a 103-97 overtime win over Kent State on Nov. 3 and a 121-56 rout of National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association program Pensacola Christian on Nov. 11.
Thursday could be another high-scoring contest, with USC putting together three consecutive halves of 55 points or more in its season-opening blowouts of Cal Poly and Manhattan.
