Arizona men's basketball scouting report: USC at No. 12 Wildcats, 8 p.m., McKale Center

USC (8-9, 2-4) at No. 12 Arizona (12-4, 3-2) | McKale Center | 8 p.m. Wednesday | ESPN | 1290-AM, 107.5-FM

Probable starters

USC

G Boogie Ellis (6-3 senior)

G Bronny James (6-4 freshman)

F Kobe Johnson (6-6 junior)

F DJ Rodman (6-6 senior)

C Joshua Morgan (6-11 center)

ARIZONA

G Kylan Boswell (6-2 sophomore)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Pelle Larsson (6-6 senior)

F Keshad Johnson (6-7 senior)

C Oumar Ballo (7-0 senior)

How they match up

The series: Arizona leads 74-46 all time and is 4-0 against the Trojans under third-year coach Tommy Lloyd. The Wildcats clinched the Pac-12 regular-season title at USC two seasons ago, then last season beat USC 81-66 at McKale Center and 87-81 at the Galen Center. The Jan. 19 game at McKale Center was the first in which Lloyd moved Cedric Henderson into the starting lineup over Pelle Larsson, and Henderson responded with 11 points and seven rebounds, while Larsson had 15 points, three rebounds and three assists. On March 2 in Los Angeles, Azuolas Tubelis had 25 points on 11-for-17 shooting while collecting 10 rebounds in UA’s six-point win.

USC overview: Voted to finish second in the Pac-12 behind Arizona in the conference’s official preseason poll, the Trojans have not looked the part so far this season. They assembled arguably the conference’s most talented roster, adding well-regarded freshman guards Isaiah Collier and Bronny James while getting guard Boogie Ellis back for a fifth season of college basketball. But USC lost to UC Irvine at home in the third game of the season and has struggled to find any momentum since then.

They have had setbacks, however. Last July, James suffered cardiac arrest, with his recovery costing him the first eight games of the season, while Collier was lost for at least a month after breaking his hand against Washington State last week. He had surgery last Thursday to repair it. Also going without rim-protecting center Joshua Morgan last week because of a respiratory infection and losing Ellis to a hamstring injury at Colorado, the Trojans were without three starters against the Buffaloes but still led them for 26 minutes in their 10-point loss at Boulder.

Morgan and Ellis are expected to play against the Wildcats. Already having played a combo guard role before Collier arrived, Ellis is going back to the role now. James and wing Kobe Johnson are also capable ballhandlers. Johnson is versatile enough offensively to play anywhere on the perimeter while he’s also none of the Pac-12’s best defenders, ranking 57th nationally in steal percentage (4.0% of opponent possessions when he’s on the floor.) USC also received a boost from sophomore guard Oziyah Sellers, who scored a season-high 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting at Colorado.

The son of former NBA standout Dennis Rodman, WSU transfer DJ Rodman is a rugged defender and rebounder at either forward spot who also is hitting 40.0% from 3-point range this season. The Trojans also have two rim-protecting bigs inside with Morgan and 7-footer Vincent Iwuchuku, along with 6-11 245-pound freshman Arrington Page and 6-9 Kijani Wright off the bench. Morgan ranks 10th nationally in block percentage, swatting away 11.8% of opponents’ shots when he’s on the floor. Aussie stretch-four Harrison Hornery has taken more than two-thirds of his shots from 3-point range, though he is hitting only 29.5% on them.

Despite having rim protectors, the Trojans have the least efficient defense overall in Pac-12 plays, allowing opponents to score 109.5 points per 100 possessions in conference games. Pac-12 teams shoot 53.7% from 2-point range and 41.3% from 3 against them.

He said it: “Boogie's their most experienced player, and he’s going to be doing what he has done. Boogie can play the point, and Boogie can go off guard. With Collier this year, they probably played Boogie more off the ball, but there are stretches in the game where he's gonna play on the ball. And at the end of the day, Boogie is the guy who is going to get them shots or make plays for other guys on their team.

James "is a talented guy who, as a freshman, is playing at a high level. I think after dealing with his medical issues early on, he's just kind of getting into the basketball flow of things. But he is a talent.

"Johnson is going to be an integral part of what they do. Rodman is a guy who can knock down shots for them, an energy guy who plays hard, gets boards and they've got a rotation of big guys who are long and athletic.

Iwuchukwu “is rounding into a good player for them that poses his own set of problems and challenges for us, with his length and his ability to run the floor and finish plays and block shots. So he gives them what they need in terms of in the post. He is very similar to Morgan in terms of how they play and their production.

Page and Wright ) are big and physical. Page is probably a guy who can step outside and shoot the ball from the perimeter. They score it around the basket, they rebound the ball. They do a good job of helping them guard the paint and defending other bigs around the basket.

Hornery is "comfortable in a catch and shoot mode and shooting it from the 3.  If he gets hot, he can knock down some shorts

"(Defensively) they mix it up -- they play man, they play zone, they press some. We expect to see the whole gamut in terms of what they do. They try to pressure and they're very active. They do a good job of making you take contested shots." — UA assistant coach Steve Robinson, who scouted the Trojans.

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Key players

USC — Boogie Ellis

After testing the NBA Draft in 2022, Ellis returned for not one but two extra years with the Trojans, picking up all-Pac-12 honors last season and a slew of them entering this season. Now a fifth-year senior taking advantage of his extra “COVID” year, Ellis ranks 55th nationally in 3-point percentage (45.5) while he’s also a threat driving inside – and hits 74.1% of his free throws when he gets to the line.

ARIZONA — Jaden Bradley

Playing off the bench all season so far, proving a selective shooter and solid defender, Bradley played more Saturday at WSU as sophomore starter Kylan Boswell struggled. However much he plays against USC, he’ll undoubtedly spend a lot of it trying to slow Ellis down.

Sidelines

Now or never

ESPN is sending Jay Bilas and Dave Pasch to work the broadcast of Wednesday's game at McKale Center, the sort of well-regarded team expected to show up when the conference’s top two teams play each other.

Except UA is in fourth place with a 3-2 record in Pac-12 play while the Trojans are in an eighth-place tie at 2-4 and are sitting miles outside the NCAA Tournament bubble at 8-9 overall.

But the Trojans have opportunities ahead, at least. They have a chance to pick up Quad 1 (UA) and Quad 2 (ASU) wins this week while they will be able to host reeling UCLA at home next week and then host the Pac-12’s only currently undefeated team, Oregon, on Feb. 1.

“We’ve got to go win and we’re capable of that,” Ellis said after USC lost to Washington State last week. “I believe in my teammates. I believe I the guys in the locker room. I know what we’re capable of. I’ve seen us at our best, and when we have everybody, I feel we have the talent to put it together.”

Dealing him out

With the Wildcats having plenty of time on their hands Sunday after their Saturday night flight out of Pullman was delayed for 24 hours, UA coach Tommy Lloyd might have figured it was chance to have meetings or even a casual chat with some of his guys.

But, no.

“None of the guys wanted to hang out with me, and I couldn’t figure out why,” Lloyd said on his weekly radio show. “I couldn’t figure out why they didn’t want to see coach.”

Lloyd said he found out that the Wildcats were absorbed in a Russian card game that Lithuanian freshman Motiejus Krivas and Paulius Murauskas had taught their teammates.

“So they were all playing this Russian card game for like seven hours,” Lloyd said. “These guys, generally, I think it's important that they hang out and have fun together. That's a huge part of it.”

Helping hands

In preparation for the Coaches vs Cancer dress code next week — when coaches annually wear sneakers in an effort to create awareness — Arizona enlisted some help.

Pediatric patients at Diamond Children’s Medical Center were asked Wednesday to paint white tennis shoes that the coaches will wear on the sidelines next week, when the Wildcats will play at Oregon State and Oregon next week.

The Coaches vs. Cancer program is a collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. It aims to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living among other goals.

Numbers game

7 — USC’s Kenpom rank in average height (6-foot-7.0), as weighed by minutes played.

11 — Seasons since USC has had as few as eight wins over their first 17 games (Trojans were 7-10 in 2012-13.

23.4 — Ellis’ scoring average in his last seven games played against ranked teams.

65.9 — Arizona’s free-throw shooting percentage in Pac-12 games, second to lowest in the conference.

— Bruce Pascoe