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No. 4 USC takes home win streak into matchup with Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers (18-3, 6-3 Big Ten) at USC Trojans (18-1, 8-0 Big Ten)

Los Angeles; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 4 USC hosts Minnesota aiming to extend its eight-game home winning streak.

The Trojans are 9-1 on their home court. USC is the top team in the Big Ten in team defense, giving up 54.2 points while holding opponents to 34.2% shooting.

The Golden Gophers are 6-3 in Big Ten play. Minnesota is 15-3 when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents and averages 9.4 turnovers per game.

USC averages 83.8 points, 28.4 more per game than the 55.4 Minnesota gives up. Minnesota has shot at a 44.3% clip from the field this season, 10.1 percentage points greater than the 34.2% shooting opponents of USC have averaged.

The Trojans and Golden Gophers meet Thursday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: JuJu Watkins is averaging 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.8 blocks for the Trojans. Avery Howell is averaging 1.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Grace Grocholski is scoring 12.3 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Golden Gophers. Annika Stewart is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trojans: 10-0, averaging 82.0 points, 38.9 rebounds, 17.1 assists, 10.8 steals and 6.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 54.5 points per game.

Golden Gophers: 8-2, averaging 78.5 points, 34.8 rebounds, 17.4 assists, 8.1 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.6 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Copyright © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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