When junior guard Rodney Rice went down with a shoulder injury in the second game of the Southwest Maui Invitational, USC men’s basketball’s hot start to the season appeared to have run cold. 

Rice sank the game-winning free throw in No. 24 USC’s (7-0) first game the day before, and in the second, he had helped the Trojans climb back from a 13-point deficit in the first half against Seton Hall University (7-1) before exiting about three minutes into the second half.

While the loss of Rice lingered, USC prevailed against the Pirates and advanced to the championship game against its former Pacific-12 rival, Arizona State (6-2). The Trojans would once again emerge victorious, earning their first multi-team tournament win since the 2017 Diamond Head Classic.

“As a coach, you’re always mentally thinking about positives, things that could go wrong,” Head Coach Eric Musselman said in a postgame news conference Wednesday. “Right now, we’re building a super confident mentality.”

USC competed in the annual tournament, which ran from Nov. 24 to 26, for the third time; it had previously played in 1999 and 2012 but failed to reach the championship game both times.

With their three wins in Lahaina, the Trojans have started the season 7-0 for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when they started 13-0 and made the NCAA Tournament. USC’s hot start has also led to a No. 24 placement in the latest Associated Press poll, the first time the Trojans have been ranked under Musselman.

Rice’s season-high scoring powers win over Boise State

USC held on late for a win over Boise State University (5-3) thanks to Rice’s dominant performance in the first game of the invitational Nov. 24. Rice scored a season-high 27 points, shooting 57% from 3-point range in 36 minutes and playing nearly the entire second half.

Rice scored one of the final baskets of the game with 14 seconds left, splitting two defenders and making the floater while being fouled to break a 65-65 tie. His subsequent free throw put the Trojans up by 3 points, helping to secure the 70-67 win over the Broncos.

“Before we got on the plane to come here, we talked about how many close games there are usually over here,” Musselman said following Monday’s game. “Another close one today.”

As a team, the Trojans made 11 3-pointers on an efficient 48% clip, propelling their offense to the win. On the flipside, Musselman and the coaching staff set a goal to defend against Boise State’s 3-point shooters; his squad achieved that, limiting the Broncos to shooting just 5-for-25 from beyond the arc.

“Defending the 3 was certainly the priority in the two days leading up to this game,” Musselman said. “I thought we did a phenomenal job there.”

Ausar shines at the line to defeat Seton Hall

In the second game of the invitational, USC faced Seton Hall, which defeated then-No. 23 NC State (5-2) in its first-round matchup. The game was all free throws for the Trojans, as they made 31 of their 38 attempts en route to an 83-81 victory Nov. 25.

USC leads the country in free throws made per game with 23, thanks to senior forward Ezra Ausar, who is averaging more than six made per game this season after transferring from Utah. He scored 15 of his 25 points at the line on a 79% clip during the game.

Ausar is now shooting just over 62% on the season at the charity stripe, where he continues to dominate.

“I continued to get my repetitions in at the free-throw line and take my time,” Ausar said in a postgame conference Tuesday.

In addition to drawing fouls, the Trojans controlled the rebounding game, primarily in the second half, collecting 13 more rebounds than the Pirates.

“We doubled them up on o-boards and won the battle of the glass by 14 against a really physical team,” Musselman said in a postgame news conference Tuesday. “I’m super pleased with our defensive effort on the defensive backboards.”

Baker-Mazara wins MVP honors in championship game

For the first time in its history, the Maui Invitational had a repeat winner: graduate forward Chad Baker-Mazara, who scored 23 points in the 88-75 win over Arizona State on Wednesday and a combined 52 across all three games.

After winning the 2024 Maui Invitational with Auburn, Baker-Mazara transferred to USC and played in the invitational for his second straight season; this time, his performance earned him the tournament’s MVP award.

“I really feel amazing right now. We got our job done,” Baker-Mazara said in a postgame news conference. “I’m feeling on top of the world right now.”

With Rice’s injury preventing him from playing against the Sun Devils, graduate forward Jaden Brownell stepped up big time. Brownell made three 3-pointers and scored 16 points in just 15 minutes of action.

“We knew, with Rodney being out, that somebody had to step up,” Musselman said in a postgame news conference. “Obviously, Jaden did that for us today.”

Even with the sizable 13-point win, the game stayed very close until the last few minutes when the Trojans pulled away.

“There’s a point in the game when Arizona State usually figures out a way to get some separation,” Musselman said Wednesday. “I thought every time they got close, especially as the game continued to progress, that we got defensive stops when we needed to.”

With Big Ten play starting Tuesday against Oregon (4-3), USC looks to extend its winning streak when it travels to Eugene, Oregon. The Trojans will take on the Ducks in both teams’ first conference game at 7 p.m. at Knight Arena.