The Trojans (6-2) have a rare date in Madison Square Garden as they take on the second-ranked Memphis Tigers (6-0) in the nationally-televised Jimmy V. Classic at 6:00p PST tonight.

The matchup
The Trojans certainly didn’t have much time to recover from their four-point loss to Kansas on Sunday, as they must now face perhaps an even better team in undefeated Memphis. The Tigers boast two of the top players in the nation in junior shooting guard Chris Douglas-Roberts (21.8 ppg, 6 rpg) and freshman point guard Derrick Rose (17 ppg, 4.3 apg). Memphis returns a total of 10 players–including all five starters–from last year’s team that went 33-4. The Tigers will even have a home-court advantage of sorts: they have already played two games at Madison Square Garden this season.

USC’s lineup features good ball handlers at multiple positions, which should hopefully help the Trojans combat Memphis’ full-court press, although the Trojans were rattled by trapping defenses earlier in the season. Freshman OJ Mayo continues to lead USC in scoring at 21.0 points per game, although he struggled at times against the strong defensive play of Kansas and Oklahoma. Freshman forward Davon Jefferson has been USC’s most consistent offensive player of late, and is averaging 14.4 points a game. Trojan forward Taj Gibson scored just two points in each of USC’s last two games, and fouled out of each one, although while he was on the court he still contributed well defensively. Gibson is from New York and is hoping to rebound in front of a hometown crowd.

The two teams have not met since 1999. Memphis has a 63-53 victory over Oklahoma this season, a team the Trojans have also defeated by a similar margin (66-55). The Trojans are 1-1 against ranked teams, while the Tigers have yet to face a school in the top 25.

TV/radio
Tonight’s game will be televised nationally on ESPN. You can also listen live on 710AM.

Game press release (Official USC site)
Game preview (ESPN)
Gibson hopes to get his mojo back (LA Times)
Fabulous freshmen meet in New York (OC Register)
Pressure on USC, and spotlight on Mayo (New York Times)
Showdown in New York City (Daily Trojan)
OJ-Derrick show is great, but let’s not get sappy (CBS Sports)
Rose vs Mayo: This time, it’s in NYC (MSNBC)
Freshmen fill Madison Square Garden for Jimmy V Classic (NY Daily News)