Spartans Must Contain USC's Leading Scorer

The Michigan State Spartans will take on the USC Trojans on Saturday. The Spartans must find a way to stop the Trojans' leading scorer, Desmond Claude.

Jan 22, 2025; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Desmond Claude (1) celebrates near the end of the second half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans look to push their winning streak another game as they begin their West Coast trip with a matchup against the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins. First up in the pecking order for MSU is USC, as their season has not seen much success.

For the Trojans, they go into the game against the Spartans with a 12-8 record, and more importantly a 4-5 record when playing fellow Big Ten competition. MSU has yet to lose to a team in the Big Ten, and if it finds a way to stop USC's leading scorer, it might be able to push its win streak another game.

USC junior guard Desmond Claude has been the bread and butter for the Trojans this season. Leading the way in average points per game with 16.1, Claude has found many ways to put the team on his back this season.

Claude has score 20 points or more eight different times this season, and his high on the year was knocked in for 31 against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Averaging 30-plus minutes on the court, Claude rarely spends his time on the bench, giving him all more opportunity to bring it to MSU.

Luckily for the Spartans, Claude has only reached the 20 points or more once in his last three games. In fact, Claude has averaged 14 points a game in his last three, which would place him in the middle area of leading scorers for MSU.

However, purely looking at the average number of points dropped per game this season, Claude, if he were on MSU's squad, would lead the way by 3 extra points. Senior Jaden Akins is currently leading the Spartans in average points per game, with 13.6.

Over his collegiate career, Claude has found his groove from his sophomore and junior seasons. As a freshman, Claude averaged 4.7 points and started in one game for the Xavier Musketeers. Since joining the Trojans, Claude has started 19 of the 20 games played and has found his leadership role on the squad.

The coast matchups are always exciting times for both Spartan fans and players, as they get a taste of what's on the other side of the country, basketball-wise. Plus, it gets them out of the cold weather in East Lansing, Michigan.

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