Biggest challenge of the season awaits men’s basketball

In what will be its biggest test so far this season, the USC men’s basketball team is preparing to take on the No. 12 Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Ore. 

The Trojans are coming off their most impressive win of the season against Stanford, while Oregon is coming off a comeback win of its own against Washington.

Both teams have 15 overall wins and four conference wins on the season. USC is currently in first place in the Pac-12, but Oregon is the highest-ranked team in the conference and USC remains unranked nationally.

“Big game — I’m a freshman — Oregon’s definitely one of the spots I have wanted to play at,” freshman forward Isaiah Mobley said. “I heard it’s a crazy environment. They’re a top-ranked team in the country right now, and I think we’re starting to roll … so I think if we execute and work hard we can beat anyone.”

Oregon has been dominant at home — not losing a single game at the Matthew Knight Arena — but that does not mean every game has come easy. The Ducks nearly lost to the Arizona Wildcats earlier this month in a 74-73 overtime battle, but as has been the case often this year, senior guard Payton Pritchard led the Ducks to another victory.

Pritchard is one player the Trojans have to keep in check if they’ll have any chance of winning. The possible front-runner for National Player of the Year has been dominating college basketball all season, averaging nearly 20 points and 5.7 assists on 41.2% 3-point shooting and 48.7% overall from the field.

“Oregon, they are an experienced team. They have some older guys, really good point guard Payton Pritchard and [a] couple good young big men,” Mobley said. “But I think we’re extremely talented too.”

A statement win against the Ducks would more than likely thrust USC into the national spotlight. The Trojans, who have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2017, are on track to finish the season better than that year, when they advanced to the Round of 32.

Head coach Andy Enfield’s Trojans have been hot of late. USC currently has a three-game winning streak, which includes two dominant wins against UCLA and UC Berkeley and a 21-point comeback win against Stanford. USC has won nine of its last 10 overall.

Much of this success can be attributed to contributions from USC’s youth. Sophomore guard Elijah Weaver, who scored the game-tying 3-pointer against Stanford to force overtime, has shot over 40% from the field in his last three games for a combined 27 points off the bench.

Mobley said USC’s coaching staff has helped him and the team’s younger players improve recently.

“Knowing where to be at all points on offense and defense, so if I need to be in a certain position at a certain point in the game, I know better now to be there,” Mobley said. “[The coaches] know we’re young so they know we’re going to make mistakes.”

If USC has any hope of beating one of the best teams in the country, it will have to rely on Weaver, Mobley and the rest of its roster to play cohesively. 

USC also has to do a better job of protecting the ball, as it has turned it over 15.2 times per game this season — compared to 12.2 a game for Oregon.

The Trojans and Ducks will tip off at 8 p.m. Thursday on ESPNU.