A heartbreaking overtime loss to Washington in the Big Ten Tournament all but solidified USC men’s basketball’s fate in the 2025-26 season. After starting the year 12-1, an eight-game losing streak to close out the season was one of the toughest ways to go out.

That all looks to change in the upcoming 2026-27 season, and with a healthy version of senior guard Rodney Rice, the Trojans are set on the right path. While USC had very few issues in nonconference play last season, the Trojans hope that success will translate into Big Ten play in 2027, and Rice could be the answer.

Games against tough opponents like North Carolina — which the team announced Friday, albeit as a preseason exhibition — will kickstart a difficult road. The Tar Heels, a worthy opponent, will test Head Coach Eric Musselman’s squad, which consists of a top-10 recruiting class and a core group of returners who are primed to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023.

Rodney Rice’s return

One of the most positive signs this year will be Rice’s return to the court. Rice originally transferred to USC from Maryland in 2025 after leading the Terrapins to the third round of March Madness.

Rice was fantastic in six games with USC last season, averaging 20.3 points, 6 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. He recorded USC’s second-ever triple-double and helped the Trojans on their journey to win the Southwest Maui Invitational, but was forced to leave the second game of the tournament with a right shoulder injury that sidelined him for the season. He eventually received shoulder surgery and was finally cleared for all basketball activities on Friday.

With Rice’s early season-ending injury and sophomore guard Alijah Arenas’s late return from his own injury, the two never shared the floor, despite being among the top guards in college basketball when healthy. With the two finally free from injuries, seeing both on the court will only boost the offense in the right direction.

While Rice is officially cleared to practice, sophomore center Eric Reibe is not. The UConn transfer joined USC in the portal but underwent foot surgery on July 31, which will put him on the mend for an indefinite period.

Preseason game at UNC

Rice and the Trojans will head to Greensboro, North Carolina, to take on UNC in their only announced preseason game on Oct. 9.

This will mark the first game between the two programs since March 23, 2007, when the then-No. 1-seeded Tar Heels eliminated the then-No. 5-seeded Trojans in the Sweet 16. Several of the players currently on both squads were not alive when the last matchup took place.

Both head coaches have seen time in the NBA, with Musselman coaching the Sacramento Kings and the Golden State Warriors in the 2000s, where he coached Arenas’s father, Gilbert. UNC Head Coach Michael Malone, meanwhile, was the Denver Nuggets’ head coach for 10 seasons, helping them bring home the 2023 NBA Championship. This is also set to be the first game Malone coaches for UNC after he was hired by the team in April.

With vast experience at the highest level, the two coaches will look for a competitive battle against one another, despite it being a preseason game.

USC will play UNC on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. at First Horizon Coliseum.