Arizona State @ Southern California preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 8, 2018 ) Southern California 78, Arizona State 80

USC improved to 4-0 on its home court in Pac-12 Conference play on Thursday with an impressive 23-point victory over Arizona. Next up on Saturday night for the Trojans, who have won 11 of their last 12 conference games at the Galen Center, is an Arizona State squad that has won three straight games including its first win at UCLA's famed Pauley Pavilion since 2009 when the Sun Devils had a freshman guard named James Harden.

The Trojans' 80-57 victory over the Wildcats was the 11th in their last 12 home contests in Pac-12 play dating back to last season and also was their biggest over Arizona since a 100-76 win in 1974 when the Wildcats were still a member of the WAC. USC, which dominated from the start while building a 36-19 halftime lead, held Arizona to 27.8-percent shooting, the Wildcats' lowest mark in 10 season under Sean Miller, and came on the heels of an impressive 80-67 home win over crosstown rival UCLA five nights earlier, marking only the second time since 1982 the Trojans have beaten UCLA and Arizona in consecutive games. "Any time you beat UCLA and Arizona back-to-back it is impressive," USC coach Andy Enfield said. "I'm proud how we've improved in the last month. We have a long way to go still. We haven't arrived yet." Arizona State, which is tied with Arizona for second place in the Pac-12 a half-game ahead of the Trojans, Oregon State and Utah, has won just two of its last 10 meetings against USC.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (14-5, 5-2 Pac-12): The Sun Devils overcame a 11-0 deficit to start the game to win convincingly, 84-73, at UCLA as 6-8 senior forward Zylan Cheatham grabbed 20 rebounds to go along with nine points and sophomore guard Remy Martin finished with the first double-double of his career, scoring 15 points to go along with a career-best 11 assists. "This is a very special place with a lot of tradition," ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. "It was truly a pivotal game. These two games (in Los Angeles) are very important to us." Freshman guard Luguentz Dort, who leads the team in scoring (16.4 points per game) and steals (26), led the Sun Devils with 16 points but was 0-for-5 from 3-point range while sophomore forward Kimani Lawrence came in off the bench to add 15 points.

ABOUT USC (11-8, 4-2): Junior forward Nick Rakocevic, who has won the conference's player of the week award twice in the past three weeks, had another monster game against the Wildcats matching a career-high with 27 points to along with 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season while 6-10 senior forward Bennie Boatwright added 12 points and matched his career-high with 12 rebounds. The big news for the Trojans was the return of guard Kevin Porter Jr., projected as an NBA lottery pick next June, from a two-game suspension for undisclosed conduct issues, and the dynamic 6-6 freshman didn't disappoint, scoring 14 points. including 3-of-4 3-pointers, to go with a highlight-reel dunk in just 17 minutes of action. "He's the most athletic person I've ever seen in person or ever played with," Rakocevic told the Los Angeles Times. "He's incredible."

TIP-INS

1. USC finished with 19 assists against Arizona to improve to 11-0 this season it records at least 16 assists in a game.

2. Cheatham's 20 rebounds against UCLA were the most by a Sun Devil since Mike Batiste also had 20 boards in a Nov. 19, 1997, game against Wagner.

3. USC has won 39 consecutive games when holding the opposition to 70 points or fewer.

PREDICTION: USC 75, Arizona State 70