Colorado @ Southern California preview
Galen Center
Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2019 ) Southern California 67, Colorado 78
With USC’s win and Colorado’s loss Thursday, the Trojans moved a game ahead of the Buffaloes and into sole possession of second place in the Pac-12 standings. The two contenders will meet twice over the next three weeks, beginning with Saturday night’s matchup in Los Angeles.
USC has won five of its last six contests with its only loss coming 79-70 in double-overtime on the road Jan. 23 at first-place Oregon. The Trojans were held to a conference season-low 56 points Thursday night but still managed to pull out a 56-52 home win over Utah. Across town Thursday night, No. 21 Colorado didn’t fare as well as a couple second-half rallies came up short in a 72-68 loss at UCLA. The loss snapped the Buffs’ modest two-game win streak and dropped them to 1-2 on the road in Pac-12 play.
TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: Fox Sports 1
ABOUT COLORADO (16-5, 5-3 Pac-12): The Buffaloes fell behind by 15 points early in the second half at Pauley Pavilion but couldn’t grab the lead despite closing to within two points with 7:21 remaining. Point guard McKinley Wright and forward Evan Battey scored 14 points apiece to pace four Colorado players in double figures, but the Pac-12’s rebounding margin leader (6.9 entering the contest) wound up with a telling 39-29 deficit on the glass. Wright paces the Buffs with averages of 13.4 points and 5.1 assists per game and is joined in double figures by forward Tyler Bey (13.2 points) and D’Shawn Schwartz (10.6), with Bey also pulling down a team-leading 9.0 rebounds.
ABOUT USC (17-4, 6-2): The Trojans trailed Utah by nine points early in the second half, but the hosts responded with a 12-0 run that sent them on their way to their ninth win in 10 home contests this season. Forward Nick Rakocevic (16 points, 15 rebounds) and reserve guard Elijah Weaver (14 points) led the way for USC and helped overcome an off night (11 points) by leading scorer Onyeka Okongwu, who’s now averaging a team-most 17.0 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 61.5 percent from the field. Guard Jonah Mathews (13.0 points) and Rakocevic (11.2) also are averaging double figures for the Trojans, who have managed to overcome an average of 15.3 turnovers per contest during conference play.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Colorado has won nine of the 13 series meetings since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, including 69-65 (road) and 78-67 (home) victories a season ago.
2. With a 4.8 rebound margin, USC ranks only behind CU (6.1) and UCLA (7.0) in the Pac-12.
3. The Buffs rank second in the Pac-12 with 62.2 points allowed per game, but USC is permitting a point less per outing (63.9-64.9) than Colorado in conference play.
PREDICTION: USC 71, Colorado 69