USC Basketball: Cal State Fullerton Preview – Tip Off, Lineups, and Live Stream

Nov 12, 2012; Palo Alto, CA, USA; Cal State Fullerton Titans guard Alex Harris (23) and Stanford Cardinal forward Dwight Powell (33) fight for the rebound during the first half at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Cal State Fullerton Titans vs. USC Trojans

Galen Center | Los Angeles, California

8:00 pm | Pac-12 Network

All-Time Series: 3-0

Last Meeting: USC 81, CS Fullerton 54 on November 24, 2010

After last week’s wins over Cal State Northridge and Northern Arizona, USC will look to stay undefeated at home this season as they face Cal State Fullerton at the Galen Center tonight.

CS Fullerton is 2-1 in head coach Dedrique Taylor’s first season at the helm with wins at Montana State and over Santa Clara. Their lone loss thus far came in a close game at Seattle.

The Titans feature two returning starters from last season when they went 14-18 in the Big West. However, they’re missing that team’s three leading scorers, all of whom graduated in the spring.

At present, junior guard Alex Harris leads the charge for CSUF. He’s averaging 17.6 points per game with a shooting percentage of 52.6% including 47.1% from three-point range. His eight assists are second on the team.

Senior guard Michael Williams supplies the most assists and steals while also filling in as the Titans second-leading scorer and rebounder. Meanwhile senior forward Marquis Horne leads the team in rebounds and also sits third at 13.3 points per game.

Rounding out the starting five, sophomore guard Jared Brandon contributes on the boards with an average of four per game and averages 9.3 points. Junior forward Steve McClellan is the tallest of the starters at 6-7, so it is no surprise that he is tied with Horne at the top in rebounds.

From the bench, the Titans can also rely on newcomer Josh Gentry, a junior transfer who is averaging ten points as a guard.

For the Trojans, junior guard Byron Wesley has been the standout man, with a week that earned him a nomination for the Pac-12 Player of the Week Award. In both USC wins, Wesley pulled the strings with J.T. Terrell fallen into Andy Enfield’s doghouse. He logged his first career double-double against CSUN, then scored a career-high 31 points versus NAU. In those two games he averaged 23.5 points and ten rebounds.

Omar Oraby will again have a clear height advantage in this one, with the tallest of the Titans standing at 6-9 compared to his 7-2. However, height didn’t help Oraby against Northern Arizona, who mostly held him in check and limited him to just eight points and seven rebounds. He’ll be expected to have more of an impact against the Titans.

USC is also getting good production from their wealth of freshmen early this season and will hope to continue that trend against CSUF. Julian Jacobs, who will likely get the start at guard, leads the team with 13 assists and sits third with 17 rebounds. Nikola Jovanovic has also been a factor at forward where he’s averaging 6.7 points.

Projected Starting Lineups:

Nov 15, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Northern Arizona Lumberjacks forward Jordyn Martin (34) defends USC Trojans guard Byron Wesley (22) in the second half of the game at the Galen Center. Trojans won 67-63. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Cal State Fullerton:

G #1 Jared Brandon 6-4 200 So.G #10 Michael Williams 6-2 185 Sr.*G #23 Alex Harris 6-1 170 Jr.*F #0 Marquis Horne 6-6 225 Sr.F #21 Steve McClellan 6-7 250 Jr.*

USC:

G #10 Pe’Shon Howard 6-3 190 Sr.G #12 Julian Jacobs 6-3 180 Fr.G #22 Byron Wesley 6-5 210 Jr.F #14 Strahinja Gavrilovic 6-9 225 So.C #55 Omar Oraby 7-2 270 Sr.

Channel Listings:

DirecTV: —Verizon FiOS: —Google Fiber: –Dish: Channel 413 SD/HDAT&T U-Verse: Channel 759 SD, 1759 HDTime Warner Cable: Click here for your local guide.

Live Stream: Pac-12 Network Stream

Odds:

According to VegasInsider.com, the Trojans are consensus 7 1/2 point favorites over the Titans.