Arizona @ Southern California preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 24, 2019 ) Arizona 57, Southern California 80

Arizona and USC, who met in the final of last year's Pac-12 Tournament, this time face off in the first round Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The winner of the contest between the ninth-seeded Wildcats and eighth-seeded Trojans then must come back 24 hours later and face top seed Washington in the quarterfinals.

Both Arizona and USC stumble into the tourney following disappointing 8-10 conference finishes and both have had to deal with injuries and the firing of an assistant coach -- Book Richardson for the Wildcats and Tony Bland for the Trojans -- who both pled guilty to felony charges in the FBI's college basketball recruiting scandal. That led to speculation that Arizona coach Sean Miller, whom ESPN reported last March was caught on a wiretap discussing payments for ex-Wildcat star Deandre Ayton -- a report Miller adamantly denied -- could also be on his way out, and Miller's comments after Arizona's 72-64 Senior Day loss to Arizona State last Saturday during which he said "It's been an amazing honor to coach at the McHale Center for the last 10 years," added more fuel to that fire. "It certainly wasn't a farewell speech," Miller clarified to reporters on Monday. USC coach Andy Enfield also so far has weathered the storm despite the fact the Trojans sputtered badly down the stretch, losing seven of their last nine including the last four in a row.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT ARIZONA (17-14): The Wildcats went 3-9 in their last 12 games including an ugly 80-57 loss at USC on Jan. 24 during which they shot just 27.8 percent, including 5-of-25 from 3-point range, and were outrebounded 51-39. Center Chase Jeter, who is third on the team in scoring (11.1 points) and leads the team in rebounding with an average of 6.6 per outing, missed that contest with a back injury but has played the last 10 games. Sophomore guard Brandon Randolph leads the team in scoring (12.8) but is shooting just 38.7 percent from the floor while while freshman guard Brandon Williams is also averaging in double figures (11.3).

ABOUT USC (15-16): Senior forward Bennie Boatwright was named to the 10-man All-Pac-12 First Team by the league's head coaches and leads the team in scoring (18.1) while also grabbing 6.4 rebounds and shooting a team-best 43.4 percent from 3-point range. Nick Rakocevic earned honorable mention all-conference recognition and is second in scoring (14.9) while leading the team in rebounding (9.3), and the 6-11 junior had 27 points and 12 boards in the first meeting with the Wildcats. Junior guard Jonah Mathews also is averaging in double figures (12.5) while highly touted freshman guard Kevin Porter Jr., considered a potential NBA lottery pick, is averaging 9.2 points and is shooting 40.3 percent from 3-point range.

TIP-INS

1. Arizona is 5-0 all-time against USC in the Pac-12 Tournament including a 75-61 victory in last year's final.

2. USC is shooting just 64.1 percent from the free throw line which ranks 11th in the Pac-12 and 334th out of 351 Division I schools.

3. The 6-10 Boatwright is 30-for-57 (52.6 percent) from 3-point range over the last six games and tied the Pac-12 single-game record for treys with 10 on 13 attempts in a 89-66 victory at Cal on Feb. 16.

PREDICTION: USC 76, Arizona 65