On Tuesday at 2:00 PM PT on ESPN2 and Cardinal Sports Network radio, Stanford men’s basketball will welcome #5 USC to The Farm in a game that was originally scheduled for this past weekend but had to get pushed back due to COVID issues within Stanford’s program. This will be the first game Stanford plays since their COVID pause, which happened after their 79-76 semifinal victory over Liberty in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. Stanford comes in at 8-4 overall and 1-1 in the Pac-12 while USC comes in at 13-0 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12.

On USC: The Trojans are led by junior forward Isaiah Mobley, who is averaging close to a double-double with 15.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. Redshirt senior forward Chevez Goodwin (13.1 points & 6.8 rebounds), junior guard Boogie Ellis (11.9 points), and senior guard Drew Peterson (11.1 points) are also scoring in double figures on average. With his younger brother Evan now in the NBA, Isaiah is getting a chance to be the leader of this USC team and so far he’s doing a really good job.

The Trojans are off to a fantastic start this season as is evident by their undefeated record and #5 ranking in the AP Poll. However, they haven’t won every game as a blowout. Wins at Temple (76-71), at Washington State (63-61), and vs. UC Irvine (66-61) were all pretty close. Even their most recent win at Cal was pretty close until they pulled away late with a 77-63 victory. So, there is a road map that Stanford can follow to keep the game close and possibly pull off the upset.

As a team, the Trojans average 76.0 points per game on 49.1% shooting from the field, 35.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 60.0% shooting from the foul line. They average 42.5 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 5.1 steals, 4.4 blocks, and 10.5 turnovers per game. They also average a +8.4 rebound margin and a -0.7 turnover margin per game.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is come out with a good flow offensively. After missing so much time, it would be easy for Stanford to come out flat or get down early. They have to come out of the gates strong with good ball movement, good shot selection, and get some shots to fall. If they’re able to settle in early on and actually take a lead during the first 10 minutes of the game, that’ll be huge.

Secondly, Stanford has to contain Mobley. He’s the motor that makes this USC team go. If they can contain him and not allow him to have a big afternoon, they'll have a shot. Stanford cannot expect to win this game if Mobley goes off.

Finally, Stanford has to hold their own on the glass. USC is used to having a large rebounding advantage and they’ll look to continue that trend at Stanford. That being said, Stanford is used to dominating the boards as well as they average a +9.3 rebound margin per game. So, this could shape up to be a really intense battle down low.

Prediction: It’s a little hard to predict this game not knowing for sure which players will be available. All that CardinalSportsReport.com can confirm is that Stanford has met the minimum requirements to play a game with head coach Jerod Haase being back in town following a prolonged stay in Hawaii with players in isolation. Despite all this, a prediction is still in order. USC 75 Stanford 68 is how I see this playing out. Given their undefeated record and top five ranking, I have to pick USC to win though I do think Stanford has a shot. Especially if they have everyone back and they execute the keys to the game outlined above.

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