Scouting report: Arizona Wildcats vs. USC Trojans

The Star's Bruce Pascoe previews all of the game day essentials, from projected starting lineups to storylines and series history, ahead of No. 23 Arizona's showdown with USC at McKale Center.

Game info

Who: USC (17-5, 6-3) at No. 23 Arizona (15-6, 5-3) 

Where: McKale Center

When: 7 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

Radio: 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Follow: @TheWildcaster on Twitter / TheWildcaster on Facebook

Probable starters: Arizona

G Nico Mannion (6-3 freshman)

G Dylan Smith (6-5 senior)

F Josh Green (6-6 freshman)

F Stone Gettings (6-9 senior)

C Zeke Nnaji (6-11 freshman)

Probable starters: USC

G Ethan Anderson (6-1 freshman)

G Jonah Mathews (6-3 senior)

F Daniel Utomi (6-6 senior)

F Onyeka Okongwu (6-9 freshman)

C Nick Rakocevic (6-11 senior)

How they match up

The series: USC has won the last two games in the series but hasn’t visited McKale Center since Feb. 10, 2018, when Dusan Ristic and Deandre Ayton had double-doubles in the UA’s 81-67 win. Ayton also smothered the Trojans with 32 points and 17 rebounds in the Pac-12 Tournament final a month later. USC then beat the UA twice last season, blowing out the 27.8%-shooting Wildcats 80-57 in Los Angeles and ending the Wildcats’ season with a 78-65 loss in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Arizona is 13-5 overall against USC under Sean Miller and leads the all-time series 68-44.

This season: The Wildcats and Trojans will meet again in just three weeks at Galen Center in Los Angeles.

USC overview: Like Arizona, the Trojans have awakened from an FBI-induced skid to make a run at the Pac-12 title this season, winning five of seven true road games although they are coming off a puzzling 78-57 home loss to Colorado, when the Buffaloes shot 51.9% from the field and held USC to just 37.9%.

Also like Arizona, the Trojans pulled in a highly regarded freshman class, theirs led by post players Onyeka Okongwu and Isaiah Mobley while point guard Ethan Anderson has far exceeded expectations.

Starting at power forward, Okongwu has been among the Pac-12’s best freshmen, a 61.5% two-point shooter who is also an excellent rebounder and shot blocker. His offensive rebounding percentage of 12.6 ranks 70th nationally and his block percentage (the percent of times he blocks opponents’ shots when he’s on the floor) of 10.7 ranks No. 24 nationally. Mobley has played mostly off the bench as the third big for the two post spots, bringing more rebounding and shot blocking with his athletic frame, while Nick Rakocevic is starting again at center, a savvy inside scorer who can also step out to shoot the occasional midrange or 3-point shot. USC ranks second in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounding percentage despite normally sending just three players to the offensive glass.

Just a three-star prospect at nearby Fairfax High School, Anderson was a UNLV signee who flipped to USC after Marvin Menzies was fired as the Rebels coach. He’s emerged as the Trojans’ starting point guard, with the 41st best assist rate in the country, dishing the assist on his teammates’ shots 34.1% of the time when he’s on the floor, while posting nearly a 2-1 assist-turnover ratio.

On the wing, Jonah Mathews is a prolific shooter who averages 37.5% from 3-point range while he’s also made 27 of his past 31 free throws. Elijah Weaver finished last season strongly as the Trojans’ starting point guard but is mostly playing both guard spots off the bench this season while Houston grad transfer Daniel Utomi starts and plays mostly at small forward, where he’s USC’s second most frequent 3-point shooter, hitting long-range shots at a 35.5% rate.

He said it

“(Their rebounding) starts with those three big guys. They give a great effort every time down the court. Usually teams only have one big guy who can score inside but they have three of them. That makes it difficult for sure. (Rakocevic) is super skilled, can dribble with both hands. He’s really, really skilled.

“(Anderson) does a great job of setting the tempo. He makes teammates better. He understands his role and his job and doesn’t deviate from it, and he takes care of the basketball. For a freshman at this level that’s really impressive. (Mathews) is much more than just a shooter. He can use a ball screen and shoot off the dribble. Utomi is a physical shooting wing who brings in toughness. … They are a good road team. Their style of play is a big factor in it.”

– UA assistant coach Justin Gainey, who scouted the Trojans

Key player (USC): Onyeka Okongwu

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Known for his defense on Chino Hills High School teams that then featured the Ball brothers, Okwongu has also displayed a ferocious efficiency on the other side of the court as a collegian. He can score in a number of ways inside and, after oft-exasperated opponents foul him an average of 5.5 times per 40 minutes, he takes advantage by hitting 73.2% of his free throws.

Key player (Arizona): Ira Lee

While Zeke Nnaji is the matchup against Okwongu that might be of most interest to NBA scouts, Nnaji will start at center opposite Rakocevic with Stone Gettings at power forward. But UA is likely to switch defenders, as it did against Washington big man Isaiah Stewart last week, and it won’t be a surprise to see Lee pick up significant defensive work against Okongwu off the bench. The Wildcats will also need Lee’s rebounding in a game that could be decided on the glass.

Sidelines

Shoe maven

When UA senior Dylan Smith put away his Nike Kobe 5 Protro Chase shoes last Saturday at Washington State, it was no disrespect at all to Kobe Bryant.

“He was actually my favorite player growing up, so it kind of devastated me for a while,” Smith said of Bryant’s Jan. 26 death in a helicopter accident. “But in his honor you’ve got to go out and play hard as you can, because that’s probably what he would want.”

The Wildcats did just that, when nearly all of them wore the Kobe 5s in their 75-72 win over Washington on Jan. 30. Many of them also wore the shoes two days later, but Smith switched his because, well, that’s what he does.

Smith said he goes through about 12-13 pairs of shoes every season, or a new pair for about every three games, rotating all of them frequently.

“We get a lot of free shoes, so why not wear them?” Smith said, smiling. “I just try to switch them all, try to break all of them in. It’s the thing to do now. Times have changed. Everybody wants to be on SlamSLAM Kicks now.”

Smith does have his favorites, though. He says Nike shoes endorsed by Giannis Antetokounmpo are the most comfortable, that he always goes back to a pair of KD 4s, and that superstitions aren’t a factor.

That is, Smith won’t necessarily wear the same pair in the next game after shooting 5 of 6 from 3-point range.

“I never thought about that,” Smith said. “That’s a good question. But … nah.”

Okongwu’s heavy heart

USC forward Onyeka Okongwu might be a projected first-round NBA Draft pick, but he’s found good reason never to count on such a thing.

When Okongwu was 13, his older brother died after a skateboarding accident.

“I thought me and my brother would grow up with each other, see each other’s nieces and nephews, you know?” Okongwu told the Los Angeles Times. “So once that hit, I just told myself nothing’s guaranteed.”

According to the Times, Nnamdi was also a promising basketball prospect entering his senior year at Chino Hills High School when he died. Today, when he’s not playing, Okongwu still wears a silicone wristband with the words “Nnamdi Okongwu #21. We will never forget you.”

“Hopefully he’s proud of me,” Okongwu told the Times.

NCAA, Nike updates

Just as the two Pac-12 programs involved in the federal basketball investigation were about to meet Thursday, two new related items.

Last week, according to the Los Angeles Times, government informant Marty Blazer disclosed in a sentencing memorandum that he is working with the NCAA in its investigations that are following up the federal activity.

This week, at the trial for attorney Michael Avenatti, a Nike attorney did not deny that the shoe company was behind paying players.

“I’ve never told the government there was no evidence of Nike making payments to players,” Nike attorney Scott Wilson said, according to Adam Zagoria, in a report for the News and Observer of North Carolina.

In addition, Zagoria reported, Jeff Auerbach of Bedford Consulting testified that Gary Franklin, then the director of club program Cal Supreme, “had been directed to make cash payments to several players’ families,” including those of former Deandre Ayton, Bol Bol and Brandon McCoy.

USC has received an NCAA notice of allegations last month regarding its case while UA has not reported receiving one at this point.

Numbers game

7

Blocks Okwongu needs to break Taj Gibson’s USC freshman record of 69 blocks set in 2007.

22

Points Stone Gettings scored for Cornell against USC during the 2016-17 season, a 79-67 USC win at Galen Center.

39.0

Combined shooting percentage of USC’s last 11 opponents, despite Colorado’s 51.9% effort last Saturday.

102

Consecutive minutes Jemarl Baker has played without a turnover, with 15 assists over that period.

1,200

Career points both Mathews (1,257) and Rakocevic (1,206) have scored for USC, putting them among the school’s all-time top 26 scorers.