Busting Brackets
Fansided

Arizona at USC: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 12, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) shoots a three-pointer against the Washington Huskies during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 12, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Bennedict Mathurin (0) shoots a three-pointer against the Washington Huskies during the first half at Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Arizona Wildcats look to avoid two Pac-12 losses in a row as they take on the USC Trojans. Who will win this battle of ranked opponents?

TV schedule: Tuesday, March 1st, 11:00 pm ET. ESPN

Arena: Galen Center in Los Angeles, California

Among all of the mayhem from Saturday’s games involving the top six teams in the country included Arizona (25-3, 15-2), who lost on the road at Colorado, 79-63. The Wildcats were actually leading at halftime but were outscored by 21 points in the second half.

It was a brutal performance from the starting lineup, combining to shoot a combined 10/37 from the field. Azuolas Tubelis and Bennedict Mathurin had 13 and 12 points respectively but it was far from enough to help them win that night. The good news is that Arizona could afford a loss thanks to everyone else losing at the top and having a big lead in the Pac-12 standings. All they need is two wins to clinch the regular-season title outright and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

Their toughest test of the remaining games is on Tuesday in Los Angeles against USC (25-4, 14-4). The Trojans had just as tough a past week as Arizona but they were able to win at both Oregon State and Oregon. In the last game against the Ducks, USC was able to win in the final minute, 70-69, led by 20 points and eight rebounds from Drew Peterson and 17 points and nine rebounds from Isaiah Mobley.

The Trojans are on a six-game win streak and have a sneaky great record, despite not getting the same kind of attention as Arizona or UCLA at the top of the Pac-12 standings. They can make even more national noise by beating the Wildcats, something they failed to do when they faced off in Tucson. Arizona won that matchup, 72-63, led by 18 points and 11 rebounds from Tubelis. Mobley was the only double-digit scorer for the Trojans at 15 points.

Next. Latest top-25 power rankings. dark

But both teams could argue that they didn’t play well at all during those 40 minutes. If the Trojans can get better production from the backcourt, they could very well win this one. But look for Arizona to be highly motivated after falling flat against Colorado. In what should be a low-scoring battle, look for the Wildcats to sneak one out.

Prediction: Arizona 68, USC 64

Home/Pac-12