Southern California @ Washington preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Southern California 75, Washington 78

Following a surprising 66-64 home loss to UCLA on Thursday, defending Pac-12 regular-season champion Washington will look to avoid an 0-2 start to conference play when it hosts USC on Sunday night. The Trojans are looking for a road sweep of the Washington schools to start Pac-12 play after defeating Washington State 65-56 on Thursday.

UCLA came entered Thursday off a shocking home loss to 14-point underdog Cal State Fullerton but took advantage of the early exit of 6-9 freshman forward Jaden McDaniels, who fouled out with 16 minutes to go, to finish with a 38-27 rebounding edge and 15-4 advantage in second-chance points, and also rode the hot shooting of Jake Kyman (7-of-12 3-pointers) to hand Washington it's second straight loss. "That's three close games," Huskies coach Mike Hopkins told the Seattle Times, referring to narrow defeats to Houston (75-71) and current No. 1 Gonzaga (83-76). "Last year we were winning the close games, and this year we're struggling with those." The matchup with USC features two of the nation's top freshman forwards and likely NBA Lottery picks in Washington's Isaiah Stewart and USC's Onyeka Okongwu, both who had impressive double-doubles in Thursday night's openers.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT USC (12-2, 1-0 Pac-12): The 6-9, 245-pound Okongwu, a two-time California Mr. Basketball who helped lead Chino Hills High school to three state titles, finished with 27 points Thursday on 12-of-14 shootings, grabbed 12 rebounds and also blocked three shots in his first game back from a sprained right ankle. Okongwu leads the Trojans in both scoring (18.4 per game) and rebounding (9.2) and also is averaging 3.2 blocks per contest while shooting 64.6 percent from the field. Senior guard Jonah Mathews (12.2 points) and 6-11 senior forward Nick Rakocevic (11.8) also are averaging in double-figures with Rakocevic, a preseason All-Pac-12 pick, also grabbing 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range.

ABOUT WASHINGTON: (10-4, 0-1): Stewart, who leads the team in both scoring (19.6) and rebounding (9.0), was once again brilliant in defeat against the Bruins, finished with a game-high 24 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks while 6-9 junior forward Nahziah Carter, who is second on the squad in scoring (13.6) and rebounding (5.6), added 16 points but McDaniels, who is third in scoring (13.5) and rebounding (5.4), had just three points and two rebounds in 14 minutes and picked up a technical foul which led to his early dismissal. "In this business you've got to have a short-term memory," Hopkins said. "We've got a great team. We've got high-quality players, but we're making some mistakes that are costing us in close games and we've got to be able to fix that." Sophomore point guard Quade Green (11.4 points) also is averaging in double figures and leads the team with 5.3 assists per game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Washington leads the series with USC, 74-72 -- with two Trojan wins vacated due to NCAA penalty -- and has won the last three in a row including a 78-75 victory in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament last March in Las Vegas.

2. Stewart has scored at least 21 points in five of the past six games and had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the other, a 85-64 win over Ball State quarterfinals of the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.

3. USC, which has won a season-best six games in a row, is 3-0 in true road games this season.

PREDICTION: Washington 79, USC 75