Southern California @ Washington St. preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2017 ) Washington St. 71, Southern California 89

The road hasn't been kind to USC which finds itself in a four-way tie for third place in the Pac-12 after Wednesday night's loss at first place Washington. The Trojans, who are still in search of their first true road win of the season, get a good chance to end that drought Saturday when they visit struggling Washington State.

The Cougars come in off a 87-67 home loss to UCLA on Wednesday and have lost four straight and 10 of their last 11 games. "It was a game where our margin of error was very small, and we needed to play with energy, we needed to play with intelligence and I feel like we did it in spurts, particularly early on," Cougars coach Ernie Kent told the Spokane Spokesman-Review. "Then once the game got away, I thought we had some mental breakdowns defensively, and that athleticism is hard to guard." USC, meanwhile, had a three-game win streak snapped in Seattle by the Huskies, 75-62, committing 18 turnovers and getting outrebounded 40-28 in the process. "We played hard but we didn't play great," Trojan coach Andy Enfield told the Los Angeles Daily News. "We had too many turnovers, gave up way too many offensive rebounds. Then we missed three layups in the second half, a couple front ends of one-and-one's and the game was tight."

TV: 7 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT USC (12-9, 5-3 Pac-12): Senior forward Bennie Boatwright had 22 points in the loss at Washington and leads the team in scoring (17.3) to go along with 6.5 rebounds per game and has turned it up in conference play, averaging 20.4 points per contest. Nick Rakocevic, a 6-11 junior forward, is second in scoring (15.8) and also ranks second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (9.8) and was named the conference's Player of the Week twice in the month of January. Junior guard Jonah Mathews (12.3) also is averaging in double figures and is shooting a team best 40.2 percent from 3-point range.

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE (8-13, 1-7): Senior forward Robert Franks, voted the Pac-12's Most Improved Player in 2018, leads the Cougars in scoring with an average of 21.2 points, which ranks 25th nationally, and also leads the team in rebounding (7.4). Freshman forward CJ Elleby is the only other player averaging double figures (16.0), the highest average of any freshman in the Pac-12. Senior guard Viont'e Daniels leads the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.06) to go along with 7.3 points per outing.

TIP-INS

1. USC is 0-4 on the road this season, including 0-3 in Pac-12 play, and is 1-7 overall in games away from the Galen Center.

2. All seven of Washington State's Pac-12 losses have been by double digits and by an average margin of 22.2 points.

3. Rakocevic has 10 double-doubles this season, including 16 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's loss at Washington.

PREDICTION: USC 88, Washington State 78