USC men’s basketball at Utah: What you need to know
Trojans look to improve their place in the Pac-12 standings when they face the Utes on Saturday in Salt Lake City
When: Saturday, 5 p.m.
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City
TV/Radio: ESPNU/790 AM
Records: USC 20-8, 12-5 in Pac-12; Utah 17-12, 10-8
Adam Grosbard (OC Register)
Last matchup: USC put away the Utes 71-56 at the Galen Center. It was one of USC’s most well-balanced offensive nights of the year, with each starter scoring at least eight points and Reese Dixon-Waters adding 11 off the bench. The Trojans’ defense never gave the Utes a chance to stage a comeback, holding Utah to 34.4% shooting from the floor.
USC latest result: The Trojans started off their mountain road trip with an easy 84-65 win over Colorado, taking a 13-point lead into halftime and never looking back. The Trojans had four starters in double digits and big man Joshua Morgan added eight in his first start since his ankle sprain earlier in the month. It was USC’s 20th win of the season, marking a program-record fourth consecutive 20-win season for the Trojans.
Utah latest result: The Utes staged a second-half comeback, but it wasn’t enough to top UCLA as Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 17 second-half points in a 78-71 victory. The Utes struggled with 12 turnovers while without starting point guard Rollie Worster (ankle), whose status remains uncertain for the USC game.
Matchup to watch: Morgan vs. Branden Carlson. Carlson scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting the last time these teams played, including 3 for 5 on 3-pointers. USC will rely on Morgan to slow down the Utah center and prevent him from tilting the game in the Utes’ favor.
USC trend to watch: The Trojans currently sit in third place in the Pac-12. With a win over fifth-place Utah, USC would guarantee itself no worse than a fourth-place finish and clinch a first-round bye in the Pac-12 tournament.
March résumé check: USC added a Quadrant 1 victory over Colorado on Thursday, improving its record in such games to 2-5. It’s a tough mark, but USC has the chance to improve it again Saturday against the Utes, another Quad 1 opportunity. Having moved up six spots to No. 49 in the NET rankings, USC is projected to be a play-in team in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN. CBS has the Trojans as an 11-seed playing Northwestern in Sacramento in the West bracket.
ocregister.com
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