Oregon @ Southern California preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 13, 2019 ) Southern California 60, Oregon 81

A regular season Pac-12 championship is no longer a realistic goal for preseason favorite Oregon which trails first place Washington by five games with six games to go. But the eighth-place Ducks, who travel to USC on Thursday night, and the Trojans, who begin the week in a three-way tie for fifth, are still within striking distance of a top-four finish and a key first round bye in next month's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

Oregon comes in off a 72-57 Civil War loss at second-place Oregon State on Saturday but is 4-2 in its last six games and still has a respectable 69 rating in this week's NCAA NET rankings with games at home against Arizona State and at likely Pac-12-champ Washington still on the agenda to try and build its case for an NCAA at-large berth. But the best bet would be a top-four finish in conference play and winning the tournament which makes this week's trip to Los Angeles for games against the Trojans and struggling UCLA even more vital. "This isn't the end," senior forward Paul White told The Oregonian on Saturday. "It's a tough game -- it's the Civil War -- we understand the importance it holds to our fans but within the locker room we have to ban together still. We have six regular-season games and then a huge part of our season, which is the (Pac-12) tournament." USC, which snapped a three-game losing streak with a 89-66 victory at California on Saturday, will be trying to avenge its worst defeat of conference play, a 81-60 loss on Jan. 13 in Eugene.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT OREGON (15-10, 6-6 Pac-12): The fact the Ducks are still in the running for a top four-finish is impressive when you consider they lost their best player, 7-2 freshman center and likely lottery pick Bol Bol, to a left-foot injury before conference play started. Bol was leading the the team in scoring (21.0), rebounding (9.6) and blocks (2.7) while also shooting an eye-popping 52 percent from 3-point range. Louis King, a 6-9 freshman forward, has helped pick up some of the slack, averaging 16.0 points in Pac-12 action which is tops for any freshman, while junior point guard Payton Pritchard is averaging 11.8 points and 4.4 assists and White is chipping in 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

ABOUT USC (14-12, 7-6): Senior forward Bennie Boatwright leads the team in scoring (18.4) and made a USC record 10 3-pointers on 13 attempts in the win at Cal which also tied the Pac-12 record for treys. The 6-10 senior is averaging 21.3 points in conference play which ranks second to Washington State's Robert Franks (22.4) and is 39-of-84 behind the arc (46.4 percent) during that span. Junior forward Nick Rakocevic is second on the team in scoring (15.5) while also pulling down a team best 9.8 rebounds per game while junior guard Jonah Mathews (12.7 points) is also averaging in double figures while shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. USC is 11-4 at the Galen Center this season but has lost its last two home games to Utah (77-70) and Colorado (69-65).

2. Oregon is 25-4 after Valentine's Day in Pac-12 play over the last five seasons.

3. The Ducks lead the Pac-12 and rank 16th nationally in 3-point percentage defense (29.7 percent).

PREDICTION: USC 77, Oregon 69