USC men’s basketball will host San Jose State tonight, a matchup that has not taken place since 1987. This will be the fifth meeting in these programs’ history, with the Trojans taking three of four all-time meetings with the Spartans. USC will host San Jose State at Galen Center, the fifth of six consecutive home games for the Trojans to start the season.

At this point last season, USC (3-1) had the same record, standing at 3-1 heading into its fifth game, in which the Trojans would defeat Seton Hall 71-63. With a brand-new squad, they will look to repeat the same success and start 4-1 again but hopefully build off early wins in a way former Head Coach Andy Enfield’s team was unable to.

The Trojans have an edge over San Jose State (1-4) since the Spartans are 0-4 against teams above .500 so far this season. Junior guard Desmond Claude has been a powerhouse for USC, leading the team in points with 62 and second in assists with 14.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

Graduate forward Saint Thomas leads the team in defensive and total rebounds, with 19 and 22, respectively. Graduate forward Josh Cohen leads the team in offensive rebounds with 5 and trails just Claude in total points, with 46 across the Trojans’ first four games.

In its 71-66 loss to UC Berkeley on Sunday, USC struggled defensively, unable to quell the Bears’ versatile offense. First-year Head Coach Eric Musselman was extremely disappointed with his squad’s performance. In a postgame press conference, Musselman and Claude emphasized that the team still lacks chemistry on both sides of the ball, but with an almost entirely new roster, more success is likely to come as the season continues.

“It’s just a communication thing. We’re all new, and we’re all still trying to mold together,” Musselman said after the game Sunday. “This is how we figure that out, through games.”

With an entirely new starting lineup, the Trojans are learning how to adapt and communicate with each other as they progress through the season. Their matchup against the Spartans will be a good opportunity for the team to hone in on their communication skills. In contrast to their defensive breakdowns, USC has excelled in putting points on the board.

Claude has been a huge difference maker for the Trojans on the offensive end, with a 53.8% field goal percentage and 33.3% three-point percentage. Cohen has also been efficient, making 20 of 30 field goal attempts through four games.

“We’re all coming from different places with different terminology and different tendencies,” Claude said. “Just being overcommunicative and talking will be the biggest key, on and off the court.”

Senior guard Josh Uduje will be the Spartan to watch out for Wednesday night. He put up an impressive 22 points against UC Santa Barbara, accounting for 37% of the Spartans’ points. The Trojans will have to communicate much better in order to shut him down effectively.

If the Trojans can stop Uduje’s attacks, they could blow up the Spartans’ offense. Musselman may look to Thomas again to take the toughest defensive assignment after he had a great performance defending the Bears’ graduate guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. on Sunday.

“Our lack of defensive ability really hurt us in the first half — especially [against] Blacksher,” Musselman said. “We changed how we were guarding him, we put Saint Thomas on him and we did a much better job.”

With just over two weeks until the Trojans make their Big Ten debut against Oregon, every game counts in their preparation. USC will look to build upon their offensive success and hone in on their defensive skills to get a win against the Spartans. The Big Ten is extremely competitive, with five of its teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25. To survive their new conference, the Trojans must capitalize on early-season games to build chemistry and make improvements — especially on the defensive end.

“It’s really hard to win at this level,” Musselman said. “I’ve got to try to continue to tinker and find guys that have lateral mobility to keep the ball in front of them, as well as contesting and defending the three, you got to do both.”

USC will look to get back in the win column against San Jose State at 7 p.m. at Galen Center.