USC Trojans
Pac-12 (22-9, 11-7)
USC heads into the NCAA Tournament after finishing in a tie for third in the very balanced and difficult Pac-12 conference. The Trojans ended the regular season with a dramatic 54-52 win over cross town rival UCLA thanks to Jonah Mathews game-winning 3-pointer with a second half. USC won five of their last seven games heading into the Pac-12 Tournament and have enough athletes to compete with just about anyone.
Big Wins: 12/21 vs LSU (70-68), 2/27 Arizona (57-48), 2/29 Arizona State (71-61)
Bad Losses: 11/22 Temple (61-70), 1/5 at Washington (40-72), 2/23 at Utah (65-79)
Coach: Andy Enfield
Why They Can Surprise:
Onyeka Okongwu has been one of the top freshmen in all of college basketball as he is averaging 16.2 points per game along with 8.6 rebounds. Jonah Mathews is the all-time leading 3-point leader in program history and has invaluable senior leadership as well. Nick Rakocevic is another strong scoring threat that can cause some problems for opposing teams on a nightly basis. Rakocevic is a solid shooter as he has made 45.8 percent of his shots and is averaging 10.5 points per game on the year. The Trojans have picked up some solid non-conference wins as they have defeated LSU and TCU. During conference play they have beaten UCLA, Stanford, Arizona, and Arizona State so that is an encouraging sign for USC.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The Trojans have had some uneven performances. They were blown out at Washington by 32 points, Colorado by 21 and Utah by 14 points. Consistency is an issue. When USC is engaged mentally at both ends of the court, they are tough to beat. However, if a lack of focus rears its ugly head then all bets are off. Taking care of the basketball has been an issue for the Trojans as they have turned the ball over 14.5 times per game. That has resulted in a turnover margin of -1.6 heading into the NCAA Tournament. Free throw shooting is another potential problem as they are only hitting 66.2 percent of their shots from the charity stripe on the season. That means way too many points are being left on the table by USC as they have lost several games by single digits.
Probable Starters:
Jonah Mathews, Senior, Guard, 13.4 ppg, 1.9 apg
Ethan Anderson, Senior, Guard, 5.5 ppg, 4.2 apg
Daniel Utomi, Redshirt Senior, Guard, 8.2 ppg
Onyeka Okongwu, Freshman, Forward, 16.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.7 bpg
Nick Rakocevic, Senior, Forward, 10.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg
Key Role Players:
Elijah Weaver, Sophomore, Guard, 6.6 ppg, 1.8 apg
Isaiah Mobley, Freshman, Forward, 6.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg
Quinton Adlesh, Redshirt Senior, Guard, 1.9 ppg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.3 (204th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.0 (77, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.9 (172, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 38.4 (9, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.5 (253, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.0 (88, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.2 (309, 12)
Rebound Margin: 3.4 (76, 4)
Assists Per Game: 13.9 (108, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.5 (294, 10)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2018 | NIT | First Round win over UNC Asheville |
| 2018 | NIT | Second Round loss to Western Kentucky |
| 2017 | NCAA | Opening Round win over Providence |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over SMU |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Baylor |
| 2016 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Providence |
| 2011 | NCAA | Opening Round loss to VCU |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Boston College |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 32 loss to Michigan State |
| 2008 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Kansas State |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 64 win over Arkansas |
| 2007 | NCAA | Round of 32 win over Texas |
| 2007 | NCAA | Regional Semifinal loss to North Carolina |
| 2002 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to North Carolina-Wilmington |
*all team stats through 3/8
