Trojans open Pac-12 tourney against UCLA

They say beating the same team three times in a season is almost impossible. USC will have to squash that claim if they hope to keep their dream season alive.

After an up and down Pac-12 season, the Trojans (20-11, 9-9) will enter the Pac-12 Tournament as the No. 7 seed and face their crosstown rivals, the Bruins, for the third time this season.

In their first two meetings, USC ran away with the wins. The Men of Troy won by an average of 16.5 points and held the Bruins (15-16, 6-12) to their lowest scoring total of the season, 61 points, in their last meeting at the Galen Center.

Although the Trojans were dominant in their two victories, head coach Andy Enfield doesn’t want his team to overlook the Bruins.

“We’re playing a very good team, a very talented and explosive team in UCLA,” Enfield said. “They’re as talented offensively as any team we have played this year. They can put points on the board in a hurry, and they have good players at every position that can score. It is going to be very challenging for us.”

The Trojans utilized their speed and athleticism in their two matchups against the Bruins. UCLA has one of the best front courts in the Pac-12 led by the duo of forwards senior Tony Parker and sophomore Thomas Welsh. However, the Trojans opted to play small in both games in order to get out and run.

Parker and Welsh had their way in the first game, combining for 43 points and 19 rebounds, but the rest of the Bruins shot 27 percent from the field and scored just 32 points. USC went on to win 89-75.

In their second matchup, UCLA head coach Steve Alford opted to play small and bring Parker off the bench. The Trojans feasted on the small lineup and ran the Bruins out of the gym. Parker played just 14 minutes and the Trojans went on to win 80-61.

Coming into the season nobody expected the Trojans to be this good. Much of their success has come from the play of their backcourt. Junior guard Julian Jacobs and sophomore guard Jordan McLaughlin have had stellar seasons and both were named to the All Pac-12 team, first and honorable mention respectively. The duo has combined averages of 23.5 points, 10.3 assists and 8.5 rebounds.

As a team the Trojans have stepped up their play tremendously this season. Six Trojans are averaging double-digit points. The Men of Troy currently have the third-highest scoring offense in the Pac-12, with an average of 80.7 points per game. Their scoring defense has been stellar as well, with the Trojans holding opponents to just 41 percent shooting.

The Trojan’s biggest caveat this season has been their inability to win on the road. The Trojans finished 16-2 at home but went 4-9 away from the Galen Center. In fact, their only wins away from the greater Los Angeles area were over bottom seeded Washington State and a neutral site victory over Wichita State.

“This year the Pac-12 was really good at home. I think the road winning percentage was around 20 to 30 percent, which is really low,” junior forward Nikola Jovanovic said. “We are a really young team relatively. I think that we learn from every game [on the road], and this is the perfect time for us to play well on a neutral court.”

Luckily for the Trojans, the only team that may be worse away from home than them is UCLA. The Bruins also won just four games on the road this season.

Tip-off is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be aired on the Pac-12 Networks. The winner gets the opportunity to play Utah on Thursday.

“UCLA did not have trouble beating us three times last year,” Jacobs said. “So we are going to try to return the favor.”