Arizona-USC pregame: Defense, stamina could decide title

LAS VEGAS — Arizona shot 56.1 percent overall and hit 9 of 20 3-pointers while beating USC a month ago at McKale Center.

In its first two Pac-12 Tournament games, USC held Oregon State to 30.5-percent shooting and Oregon to 33 percent.

Something changes tonight when USC and Arizona meet in the Pac-12 Tournament final.

“We’ve just got to go out there and defend,” USC’s Chimezie Metu said of Arizona. “They have to guard us, too We have to go out there and play for each other.”

USC guard Jordan McLaughlin said coach Andy Enfield has reminded the Trojans that they are undefeated when holding teams under 70 points, too (Arizona won 81-67 on Feb. 10 at McKale Center).

“And our defense leads to offense,” McLaughlin said. “Once you start getting a couple of easy shots, you start hitting more. We want to play fast and unselfish. As long as we score a lot of points, we should be good.”

Of course, Arizona's defense is on a roll, too. The Wildcats have kept their opponents shooting 42.3 percent or less in four straight games, and UCLA shot just 39.7 percent in Friday's semifinal.

What may be interesting Saturday is whether stamina and foul trouble comes into play.

Neither team routinely goes deep into its bench: Enfield gave double-digit minutes to only six players Friday despite the Trojans’ easy win over Oregon. In UA’s overtime game with UCLA, Sean Miller played Allonzo Trier, Rawle Alkins and Deandre Ayton for 40 minutes or more, while Parker Jackson-Cartwright played 38 and Dusan Ristic 35.

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And the Trojans, of course, will have to devote a significant amount of energy dealing with Deandre Ayton, who had 32 points and 14 rebounds against UCLA.

“Gotta contain him,” USC guard Elijah Stewart said. “We’ve gotta contain his post touches because if he gets it around the rim, it’s automatic.”

When The Athletic's Sam Vecenie asked Chimezie Metu how to guard Ayton, (at about the 25-second mark of the video on Metu) the USC forward generated laughter by saying "Sh... I don't know."

Like Wildcats have, the Trojans have had to overcome a load of adversity this season that started on Sept. 26.

Apparently there's a lot of betting action on the Wildcats. Arizona opened as a 1.5-point favorite according to Vegas Insider but the line has moved to 3.5-4 points.

UA's win over UCLA qualified as a Quadrant 1 win and improved its record to 4-3 in Quadrant 1 games. The Wildcats are 10-3 in Quadrant 2 games. 

The NCAA's latest "team sheet" on the Wildcats is attached as a PDF file.