Trojans set to begin Pac-12 tournament with first-round bye

Close but no cigar for the No. 24 Trojans.

Head coach Andy Enfield and his team watched their hopes of bringing USC its first conference championship since 1985 slip through their fingertips when the Oregon Ducks dismantled Oregon State 80-67 and secured the Pac-12 title with a 14-4 conference record Sunday afternoon. While USC took care of business against UCLA the day prior to Oregon’s win, the Beavers were unable to do USC a favor by beating Oregon.

Despite winning a Pac-12 best 15 games, the Trojans sit at the No. 2 seed, with recent losses to No. 23 Colorado and Utah dimin- ishing their title chances.

“We are really excited for our basketball team, how they’ve handled themselves all sea- son,” Enfield said after the game Saturday. “Every team has their ups and downs through a long basketball season. We had a few tough games last week on the road, but we bounced back.”

Now, all eyes will be on the Utah-Washington game slated for Wednesday. USC will play the winner of that matchup in the quarterfinals.

The Trojans would likely love to see No. 10 seed Washington upset No. 7 seed Utah, as Enfield’s squad has already picked up two dominant wins against the Huskies this season. USC simply has too much size down low for the Huskies to handle. Freshman forward Evan Mobley and sophomore forward Isaiah Mobley gave the Huskies frontcourt problems in two matchups this season. Senior forward Chevez Goodwin has also gotten into the action against Washington,

averaging 11.5 points per game in USC’s two wins against the Huskies.

On the other hand, Utah split the season series with the Trojans,

handing them a disheartening loss late in the season that made the climb to the conference ti- tle even steeper. Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak does a great

job of game planning and prepar- ing his players for their matchups. In both of Utah’s matches against USC, the Utes held the focal point of the Trojan’s offense, Mobley, to

just two field goals.
If Utah were to advance to the

quarterfinals, Mobley will have to figure out different ways to be ef- fective on the court. The 19-year old superstar was voted the Pac-12 Player of the Year, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the first player in Conference histo- ry to take home all three accolades.

Mobley doesn’t have to score 20 points if the Trojans want to taste the semifinals, but he will have to be the best player on the floor, whether that comes through his playmaking or rebounding and defense.

Beating Utah or Washington would most likely pit the Trojans up against another familiar foe, the Buffaloes. Colorado hand- ed USC two of its six losses this season, including another disap- pointing loss late in the season that cost USC a shot at the top seed in the conference tourna- ment. Enfield, who was recently voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year, will have his hands full trying to game plan for all Pac-12 first team guard McKinley Wright IV. Wright’s dynamic scoring and two-way play has propelled the Buffaloes to the third seed in the Pac-12.

No matter who the Trojans face, they are going to have to tread carefully over the next week. The Pac-12 is filled with teams hungry for a chance to compete in the NCAA tourna- ment, so USC cannot afford slop- py play, missed free throws or a lack of focus.

“It’s going to be very challeng- ing, it’s going to be a long two weeks or three weeks,” Enfield said. “We know what’s at stake, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We want to be there.”

Enfield and company face the winner of Utah-Washington Thursday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.