USC is playing it best basketball down the stretch, hopes to build on it at Pac-12 Tournament
The USC Trojans are banking on the reality that they are getting hot at the right time, just before the Pac-12 Tournament this week in Las Vegas. USC smashed Arizona by double digits on Saturday night, winning the last Pac-12 men’s basketball regular-season game in their existence before moving to the Big Ten next season. The win is notable less for the fact that it was the Pac-12 finale, more for the fact that Arizona had given USC a very hard time under coach Tommy Lloyd.
The Wildcats’ size and power has often frustrated USC in the paint and on the glass, but that did not happen on Saturday. USC was the consistently tougher and better team. Arizona guard Caleb Love struggled to hit from the field, and when Love struggles, Arizona usually follows suit. USC’s perimeter defense was outstanding, and with USC looking healthier and more vigorous than it had in previous weeks during an injury-riddled season, the Trojans put together their best game of the year versus the regular-season Pac-12 champion.
National and regional commentatators are saying that if three teams have a shot at the Pac-12 Tournament, USC is one of them alongside Arizona and Colorado. USC could face Arizona in a potential quarterfinal on Thursday, but the Trojans must first beat Washington in the first round on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas. That game starts just after noon Pacific time.
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