Utah @ Southern California preview
Galen Center
Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2020 ) Southern California 65, Utah 79
Both Utah and USC are looking to rebound from tough losses when the two teams clash on Saturday in Los Angeles.
The Trojans dropped their Pac-12 home opener, falling 72-62 to Colorado on Thursday. USC (5-2, 0-1 Pac-12) cut the deficit to within two points midway through the second half behind a 9-0 run. But the Trojans went on to miss 11 of their next 12 shots and the Buffaloes pulled away.
USC struggled with taking care of the ball. The Trojans registered 15 turnovers against the Buffaloes. Evan Mobley and Isaiah Mobley combined for nine of those turnovers. They also totaled only 21 combined points after Colorado clamped down defensively around the basket and routinely disrupted passing into the post.
Ultimately, USC shot just 32 percent from the field after halftime. It derailed any comeback hopes.
"We had our chances, but we just had to step up," Trojans coach Andy Enfield told the Los Angeles Times.
Utah also saw a comeback fall short in a 72-70 loss at UCLA on Thursday. The Utes (4-2, 1-1 Pac-12) got a season high 22 points from Alfonso Plummer and 18 points from Timmy Allen.
Plummer scored 14 straight points to open the game and to give Utah an early 16-4 lead. The Utes fell behind after enduring multiple scoring droughts. They still had a chance to tie or win with 3.9 seconds left, but Pelle Larsson turned the ball over and Utah never even got a shot off.
"We will spend a little bit more time on end-of-game situations," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak told the Deseret News. "We were presented with an opportunity to win the game and didn't make the play that we needed to."
Utah carries an 11-game Pac-12 road losing streak into Saturday's contest with USC. The Utes haven't won on the road in league play since beating Washington State 92-79 on Feb. 23, 2019.
--Field Level Media