Scouting report: Arizona Wildcats vs. USC Trojans
- Bruce Pascoe Arizona Daily Star
- Updated
The Star's Bruce Pascoe previews all of the game day essentials, from projected starting lineups to storylines and series history, before the Arizona Wildcats head to Los Angeles for a Pac-12 date with the USC Trojans.
Game info
UpdatedWho:ย Arizona Wildcats (14-5, 5-1) at USC Trojans (10-8, 3-2)
Where:ย Galen Center, Los Angeles
When:ย 7 p.m. Thursday
Watch:ย Fox Sports 1
Listen:ย 1290-AM, 107.5-FM
Follow:ย @TheWildcasterย on Twitter /ย TheWildcasterย on Facebook
Probable starters: Arizona
UpdatedG Justin Coleman (5-10 senior)
G Brandon Williams (6-2 freshman)
F Brandon Randolph (6-6 sophomore)
F Ira Lee (6-7 sophomore)
C Ryan Luther (6-9 senior)
Probable starters: USC
UpdatedG Derryck Thornton (6-3 junior)
G Jonah Mathews (6-3 junior)
F Shaqquan Aaron (6-7 senior)
F Bennie Boatwright (6-10 senior)
C Nick Rakocevic (6-11 junior)
How they match up
UpdatedSeries history
Arizona has won five straight games against USC since a four-overtime, 103-101 loss in 2015-16, when Allonzo Trier played over 15 minutes after breaking his hand. Arizona didnโt play in Los Angeles last season but beat the Trojans 90-77 at McKale Center when Dusan Ristic had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, then won 75-61 in the final of the Pac-12 Tournament when Deandre Ayton collected 32 points and 17 rebounds to win Pac-12 Tournament MVP honors.
Arizona leads the all-time series 68-42.
This season
The Wildcats will not host USC at McKale Center this season because of the Pac-12โs unbalanced schedule.
USC overview
Hit hard with the injury bug, USC has also been without highly regarded freshman guard Kevin Porter Jr. for the past two games because of an indefinite suspension. It is unknown if Porter will be available Thursday. Meanwhile, USC also may seek a redshirt season for injured guard Charles OโBannon.
But after being swept in Oregon during the second weekend of conference play, the Trojans rebounded to beat UCLA with a display of good ball movement and inside play from forward Bennie Boatwright and center Nick Rakocevic, whose 21-point, 12-rebound effort earned him Pac-12 Player of the Weekย honors. Rakocevic leads the Pac-12 in rebounding at 9.7 per game while Boatwright is second in 3-pointers made (2.3) and hits them at a 38.9 percent rate.
On the perimeter, Jonah Mathews is shooting 40.4 percent from 3-point range after making 4 of 10 against UCLA while Shaqquan Aaron can shoot or drive. Point guard Derryck Thornton is starting to live up to the high expectations he had as a five-star high school player who started his career at Duke. Thornton averages 8.9 points, has a 2-1 assist-turnover ratio, and records the assist 27.9 percent of the time his teammates score when heโs on the floor, the 119th highest assist rate in Division I.
He said it
UpdatedโUSC is a lot like the team that we had a year ago, maybe the last couple of years, in that we had both a four and a five who could beat you around the rim. Itโs kind of how the game used to be played, where thereโs two big guys not just one. The thing thatโs really tough to deal with about USC is Rakocevic and Boatwright can both score around the basket, both are excellent passers. And (USC) does an amazing job of getting them the ball in the right position. Theyโre both very mobile as well.
"(Rakocevic) averages four offensive rebounds a game, which is astonishing. Thatโs a special talent he has. One of the things thatโs been striking about him is heโs got great hands. He can catch the ball in traffic. Heโs not just a back-to-the-basket player. So (itโs about) keeping him off the glass, and making sure we match his motor.โ โ UA coach Sean Miller
Key player: Bennie Boatwright
UpdatedUSC
USCโs skilled stretch-four is enjoying full health this season after a number of issues have kept him off the floor throughout his career, including in the Trojansโ loss to Arizona in the Pac-12 Tournament. As a 6-10 veteran, heโs difficult to guard inside or outside the arc, with an effective shooting percentage of 57.4, a Kenpom measure that gives a 50 percent bonus for 3-pointers.
Key player: Ira Lee
UpdatedArizona
Ira Lee The sophomore forwardโs first trip home to Los Angeles as a Wildcat will be all about business. Without Emmanuel Akot and maybe Chase Jeter โ and with Dylan Smith undersized for matchups with Rakocevic or Boatwright โ Lee may face more pressure than ever to help defensively.
Lute warned โem
UpdatedWhen Los Angeles native Brandon Williams was asked during a news conference Wednesday about going home to play this weekend, he quickly pivoted.
โItโs a business trip and weโre trying to get a road sweep,โ he said.
Heโs been well-trained, it appears. Thatโs the sort of mentality Williams and fellow Southern Californians Ira Lee and Devonaire Doutrive may need to survive in what has historically been a difficult trip of mixing work and pleasure for a team that usually has several Californians on the roster.
Itโs been a trend for decades.
โGoing to L.A. is a big trip for our players but especially the players who are from L.A.,โ UA coach Sean Miller said. โI can remember coach (Lute) Olson talking to me a lot about that when I first got here, how going to play the L.A. schools with players who are from Los Angeles, how important it is that theyโre focused and how big of a game, how big of a trip it is for them.
โThere are times weโve handled it well. There are times when weโve handled it not as well. โฆ But Brandon Williams, Ira, Devonaire, those guys are great kids. They want to do things the right way and I think their intent will be pure.โ
Film junkie
UpdatedJustin Coleman is a film junkie! @justincoleman05 says he watches 6-7 hours of film at the arena or on his phone. pic.twitter.com/wfReiYEzMD
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) January 23, 2019
Graduate-level guard Justin Coleman says he watches six or seven hours of video every day, and none of them are on Netflix.
โNot right now,โ Coleman says.
Rather, the UA grad transfer guard says he spends all that screen time on basketball video, sent directly to his phone so his โfilm roomโ can become anywhere he is.
Even at the breakfast table.
โWhile Iโm eating breakfast, after I read the Bible in the morning, I might sit there and watch an hour and a half of film and watch again after practice,โ Coleman said. โI might watch it at the gym or at home.โ
At any given moment, Coleman said he might be watching video of a recent UA practice, the past two or three UA games, or the past two or three games of an opponent, sometimes trying to analyze an upcoming zone defense heโll have to face.
โIf I can prepare mentally thatโs 90 percent of the game so I just try my best mentally to prepare for the next game,โ Coleman said. โIn practice the coaches canโt cover everything.
โSo while Iโm watching film, I might see a clip that will help us on ball-screen defense and I might sendย it to Ira Lee and say, โHey, Ira, if you do this thing it will help us as wellโ or โthis guy might shoot 20 percent from the 3-point line so you can short close-out inside of long close-out.โ Just the small details helps a lot in games.โ
Apparently, heโs not exaggerating.
โMost of the time I walk into his apartment,โ backcourt mate Brandon Williams said, โand I would think heโs watching the Pacquiao fight or something โ but heโs watching USC against TCU or something like that. Thatโs when I know heโs an old hat.โ
Trojan troubles
UpdatedNot only has USC struggled with as many injuries as anyone in the Pac-12 this season, but behavioral issues havenโt helped.
USC coach Andy Enfield suspended guard Jordan Usher last month for an undisclosed conduct issue, and Usher soon transferred to Georgia Tech, while standout freshman guard Kevin Porter Jr. has missed the past two games because of another undisclosed conduct issue.
Enfield said last weekend he would evaluate Porterโs future this week but there was no indication Wednesday from USC if Porter would play Thursday.
โItโs very disappointing,โ Enfield told the Los Angeles Times. โWe need all our players to be healthy and available. The last thing you want to do as a head coach is suspend any of your players, but when thereโs conduct issues, we have no choice.โ
Just in case, UA is preparing to deal with Porterโs five-star ability to shoot or drive.
โHeโs a really talented player,โ Miller said. โWe know he can score in bunches. He can do it driving the ball. He can do it especially in transition.
โWe always look at those guys if thereโs a chance theyโre going to play we assume theyโre going to play and prepare accordingly.โ
Numbers game
Updated8
Straight games Arizonaโs bench has outscored its opponentsโ bench.
20.4
Points Boatwright has averaged in USCโs last eight games while shooting 51.8 percent.
98.5
Points Arizona allows per 100 opponent possessions in Pac-12 games, the second-most efficient defense in the conference behind Washington (91.5).
Tags
More information
- Wildcats hit daunting Los Angeles trip with Chase Jeter and Sean Miller hurting
- Basketball 'a blessing in disguise' for Arizona Wildcats' Stone Gettings
- Arizona Wildcats have been Pac-12's healthiest team so far this season
- After long journey, Arizona Wildcat Justin Coleman reaches milestone
- Arizona Wildcats signees Nico Mannion, Josh Green named to McDonald's All-American Game
- Chase Jeter not expected to play for Arizona Wildcats at USC
- College basketball scoreboard: Arizona Wildcats vs. USC Trojans
- Poor-shooting Arizona Wildcats lose 80-57 at USC
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