USC Basketball: Trojans release their non-conference schedule for 2017-18

Mar 2, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans forward Bennie Boatwright (25) celebrates after a three-point basket against the Oregon State Beavers during an NCAA basketball game at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

USC Basketball will likely enter the 2017-18 season as a fringe top-10 team in the country. What does their non-conference schedule have in store?

After making a solid run in the NCAA Tournament a season ago, the USC Trojans return a ton of talent. They could enter this upcoming year in the top-10 and it would come at little surprise. Will they be able to take advantage of their non-conference schedule and move up the rankings before starting Pac-12 play?

There are several key ingredients in making a top resume in the country, one of them being a good strength of schedule. Although major conference opponents are littered across this schedule, the game that sticks out the most is USC’s battle with SMU. The Mustangs lost Sterling Brown and Semi Ojeleye, but could come back strong and pose a major challenge to USC.

Cal State Fullerton Titans at USC Trojans

When: November 10th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 5-0. USC won the last meeting 53-49 in 2014.

North Dakota State Bison at USC Trojans

When: November 13th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 1-0. USC won the last meeting 61-57 in 2008.

USC Trojans at Vanderbilt Commodores

When: November 19th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 4-1. USC won the last meeting 77-72 in 1975.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks at USC Trojans

When: November 22nd

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 1-0. USC won the last meeting 76-49 in 2010.

Texas A&M Aggies at USC Trojans

When: November 26th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 1-0. USC won the last meeting 65-63 in 2016.

USC Trojans at SMU Mustangs

When: December 2nd

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 4-1. USC won the last meeting 66-65 in 2017.

Oklahoma Sooners vs. USC Trojans at the Staples Center

When: December 8th

Prior history against each other: Oklahoma leads the series 5-4. Oklahoma won the last meeting 73-72 in 2008.

Santa Clara Broncos at USC Trojans

When: December 14th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 13-5. USC won the last meeting 86-73 in 2010.

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at USC Trojans

When: December 17th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 9-1. USC won the last meeting 96-72 in 2016.

Princeton Tigers at USC Trojans

When: December 19th

Prior history against each other: USC leads the series 1-0. USC won the last meeting 70-52 in 1972.

Diamond Head Classic

When: December 22-25

The teams invited for this tournament include: USC, Utah State, Hawaii, New Mexico State, Middle Tennessee, Miami, Davidson, Akron.

Next: Top-10 returning Pac-12 players

On the whole, this looks like a reasonably difficult non-conference schedule, even for a team with as high of expectations as USC has. A major part of creating a solid resume is scheduling good mid-majors. Could one of the teams on USC’s schedule surprise people to finish with a top-100 or top-50 RPI? Princeton might be that team.

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