Southern California @ Oregon preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 21, 2019 ) Oregon 49, Southern California 66

Following a dramatic comeback win over Stanford, USC heads to 13th-ranked Oregon on Thursday night with first place in the Pac-12 Conference on the line. The 4-1 Trojans, who rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit to defeat the then-25th-ranked Cardinal, 82-78, in overtime last Saturday, enter the contest tied for the top spot with Stanford, a half-game ahead of the 4-2 Ducks.

Sophomore guard Elijah Weaver's 3-pointer near the end of regulation capped USC's comeback from a 46-25 deficit with 19 minutes to go and Weaver followed that with eight of his 13 points in overtime to spark the Trojans to what is believed to be a Pac-12 record for for the largest second-half deficit comeback win. "I hope you enjoyed that one, I certainly did," said USC coach Andy Enfield, who admitted he let his team have it at halftime. "I haven't been down 20, playing poorly and then come back and play great. ... I used my dad's deep voice at halftime. I yelled very loud and they responded." Oregon comes in off a split of its trip to the Washington schools last weekend, bouncing back from a 72-61 loss at Washington State on Thursday by rallying from a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat Washington, 64-61, on guard Payton Pritchard's long 3-pointer with 3.4 seconds left in overtime. "I don't fear failure; I work too hard to fear it," Pritchard told oregonlive.com. "Been through too many ups and downs. Nothing affects me in that regard. They can put the blame on me; I can take all the criticism, but I'll be right there to take that last shot, to take that pass and to make that play whether it goes good or bad."

TIME: 11 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT USC (15-3, 4-1 Pac-12): Freshman forward Onyeka Okongwu had a game-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and four blocks before fouling out in overtime against Stanford and leads the Trojans in scoring (16.9) and is tied with 6-11 senior forward Nick Rakocevic for the lead in rebounding (8.7) while also blocking 3.0 shots per game. Senior guard Jonah Mathews, who has scored 19 points in back-to-back games, is second in scoring (12.8) while shooting 37.1 percent from 3-point range while Rakocevic is also averaging in double-digits (11.2 points). The Trojans have won nine of their last 10 games and their 4-1 start to Pac-12 play is their best since a 5-0 start in 2002.

ABOUT OREGON (15-4, 4-2): Pritchard, who leads the Ducks in scoring (19.5), assists (5.7) and steals (1.7), finished with a team-high 22 points, including 6-of-12 3-pointers, to go with three assists and two steals and continued his trend of hitting big shots in crunch time, hitting a game-tying jumper late in regulation in a 74-73 overtime win over Arizona nine days earlier and scoring 15 of Oregon's final 17 points in a 71-70 overtime victory at Michigan on Dec. 14. "I've been practicing that for a long time, through every year at Oregon," Pritchard said of his 30-foot step-back game-winning 3-pointer against the Huskies. "I stayed working at my craft knowing that my time is going to come eventually." Junior guard Chris Duarte (12.8 points) is the only other Oregon player averaging in double figures with UNLV transfer Shakur Juiston leading the team in rebounds (6.5) to go along with 7.9 points per game.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. USC leads the series with Oregon, 64-57, which includes two wins vacated due to an NCAA penalty, but has lost eight of its last nine games in Eugene including a 81-60 loss last season.

2. Pritchard needs four assists to become the first player in Pac-12 history with 1,500 career points, 600 career assists and 500 career rebounds. Utah's Andre Miller also accomplished that feat before the Utes joined the Pac-12.

3. Oregon is 10-0 at home this season.

PREDICTION: Oregon 75, USC 67