USC AT ARIZONA STATE
When: Saturday, 11 a.m.
Where: Desert Financial Arena, Tempe, Ari.
TV/radio: FOX/790 AM
Records: USC 8-10, 2-5 in Pac-12; Arizona State 10-7, 4-2 in Pac-12
Notable injuries: USC: QUESTIONABLE: G Boogie Ellis (hamstring); OUT: G Isaiah Collier (hand); PROBABLE: C Joshua Morgan (respiratory illness); ARIZONA: N/A
USC latest result: The void beckons, and its tendrils are firmly implanted in this USC team, slowly dragging them into a gaping pit that Andy Enfield hasn’t seen the likes of since his first year helming the program. After wins over Stanford and Cal seemed to signal a potential turning point for a struggling squad, the Trojans have dropped three in a row, most recently handled 82-67 by national-power Arizona on Wednesday. Thing is, USC has been competitive in both recent losses to Colorado and Arizona; they’re just at a severe talent and depth deficiency, missing their two leading scorers in Collier and Ellis with injury. If Ellis gets back healthy against Arizona State, it would be a weight off freshman Bronny James and sophomore Oziyah Sellers’ shoulders, suddenly tasked as lead ball-handlers despite neither quite being a true point guard.
Arizona State latest result: Yeesh! After a rollicking start in the Pac-12, going 4-0 against Stanford, Cal, Utah and Colorado, the Sun Devils lost by 15 to Washington and then blew a 15-point lead to a floundering UCLA team, making this a more-than-winnable game for USC to set itself straight. Guards Frankie Collins and Adam Miller led the way with 16 points apiece against the Bruins. They’re gunners and technically the biggest threats on the roster, but Arizona State has a pretty balanced scoring attack overall.
USC trend to watch: In those wins against Cal and Stanford, USC tallied 47 assists against 19 turnovers (cumulative). Collier barged into the paint with reckless abandon and fired out to shooters. Enfield’s motion offense, with hand-offs flowing into pick-and-rolls, was working wonders. The ball was singing. Galen was, too. But since Ellis and Collier have been out, across losses to Colorado and Arizona, USC has had more turnovers than assists, a trend that’s matched the eye test throughout the season on whether or not the Trojans have been able to find offensive consistency. It makes sense, with the current makeup of the roster; a world is being thrust upon James, a little over a month into his return from heart surgery and now tasked with being USC’s primary playmaker. If the Trojans have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio against Arizona State, they’ll win. Book it.
Matchup to watch: USC’s Vincent Iwuchukwu v. ASU’s bigs. Well, okay, this may be not quite accurate; Arizona State doesn’t really have bigs. Their tallest player in their starting lineup is 6-foot-9 Alonzo Gaffney, and the Sun Devils are getting resoundingly outrebounded on the season as a result. With Morgan still recovering from illness, Iwuchukwu needs to crash the boards hard and utilize his height and energy around the rim to give USC a consistent paint presence.