Two nights after clinching Pac-12 title, Arizona Wildcats stumble in 78-65 loss at USC

LOS ANGELES — Back in the preseason, when Arizona and USC were consensus 1-2 picks atop the Pac-12, the kind of game that played out Saturday at the Galen Center would have been zero surprise.

USC, picked to finish second but mired in 11th place entering Saturday, pulled out a 78-65 win over Arizona just two days after the Wildcats celebrated an outright Pac-12 title by beating UCLA across town in Westwood.

The Wildcats shot just 38.7% from the field on Saturday, hitting only 6 of 21 3-pointers, and received a 1-for-10 shooting night from leading scorer Caleb Love. UA also committed 18 turnovers that led to 17 USC points, the Wildcats' offense out of rhythm virtually all night.

But whether that was the result of some sort of hangover from Thursday, or because USC finally started playing like the team is was expected to be, wasn't entirely clear.

Not even UA coach Tommy Lloyd was sure of that, giving USC credit for disrupting the Wildcats' offense with its switching defensive looks but also wondering if there was an internal issue after his players celebrated their title-clinching win just 48 hours earlier.

"We knew it was was going to be a test, and we had talked about that," Lloyd said. "I don't know. Maybe I talked them into not playing well. Sometimes as a coach, you try to address what you think is the obvious, and maybe your players don't realize it.

"So the next thing they know they're like, `We're supposed to have a letdown today?' You don't know. Maybe I talked them into it. That's something that to consider as well."

Trading 34-30 at halftime, the Wildcats never led in the second half but pulled within six points, 60-54, after Ballo dunked with 6:14 left.

Then the Trojans put the game away with more defense, later scoring six straight emphatic points to take a 77-61 lead with 1:56 left. After center Joshua Morgan made a layup, Ellis picked off a pass from Love, leading to a fast-break dunk by USC guard Isaiah Collier.

Then, after DJ Rodman blocked a shot from UA’s KJ Lewis and Isaiah Collier missed a layup, Morgan took the offensive rebound and dunked it in.

The USC fans inside the Galen Center, who most of the night needed the amplified voice of the USC emcee to drown out "U of A" chants from the 2,000 or so UA fans in attendance, began cheering wildly.

The Trojans' defense-fueled offense had done the Wildcats in.

"We were really bad on offense," Lloyd said. "We turned the ball over a lot and that probably helped them out with their offense a little bit, but they made a few shots. I did not feel like that was a high octane game by either team, but I'm taking nothing away from 'SC. They were a lot better than we were today."

Nobody had a more disrupted offensive night than Love, who appeared to have wrapped up the Pac-12 Player of the Year award after UA clinched the regular-season title on Thursday.

Love made his only shot, a driving layup, on the very first possession of the game but went on to miss his next nine shots, including six 3-pointers. It was only the second game this season that he has scored in single figures.

"Caleb's had an MVP type of year. He just didn't play great today." Lloyd said. "It'll be a great thing for him and I to discuss. I really appreciated him. These are the types of experiences coaches and players need together."

Also struggling offensively: Wing Pelle Larsson, who had five points while missing 4 of 5 3-pointers he took, and point guard Kylan Boswell, who had five points while shooting 2 of 9 overall and pairing his three assists with three turnovers. 

The Wildcats did have some success inside, however. Oumar Ballo had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Wildcats while Keshad Johnson added 17 points and five assists.

The only player UA made available for interviews afterward, Ballo said he wasn't sure what forced so much disruption to the Wildcats' offense.

"It's hard to tell because they were playing kind of a zone, and it was hard to get some easy looks," Ballo said. "But we're gonna get better and next time we face them, we're gonna play a lot better."

They actually might face USC again in their next game. The win lifted the Trojans into the No. 9 Pac-12 Tournament seed, so they will face No. 8 Washington at noon on Wednesday for the right to face the top-seeded Wildcats on Thursday at noon at Las Vegas' T-Mobile Arena.

While the Wildcats were certain of the Pac-12 Tournament's No. 1 seed after beating UCLA 88-65 on Thursday at Pauley Pavilion, their loss Saturday left the Wildcats (24-7 overall and 15-5 in the Pac-12) uncertain of whether they can still secure a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed despite Tennessee's home loss to Kentucky earlier Saturday.

The Wildcats never looked in control of Saturday's game despite taking an early 7-2 lead. The Trojans and Wildcats played a one-possession game for much of the first half, while USC guard Bronny James hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left in the first half to give the Trojans a 34-30 halftime lead.

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The Wildcats shot just 36.4% in the first half and missed all but one of their eight 3-point attempts while USC shot 46.4%. 

The Trojans, which finished their regular season 14-17 and 8-12, wound up with 19 points each from Kobe Johnson and DJ Rodman. USC shot 49.1% overall even as leading scorer Boogie Ellis had just five points on 1-for-8 shooting.

The full Pac-12 Tournament schedule

(All games at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas; All times MST/PDT)

Wednesday, March 13

• No. 8 Washington vs No. 9 USC, noon (Pac-12 Networks)

• No. 5 UCLA vs. No. 12 Oregon State, 2:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

• No. 7 California vs. No. 10 Stanford, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

• No. 6 Utah vs. No. 11 ASU, 8:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

Thursday, March 14

• No. 1 Arizona vs. 8/9 winner, noon (Pac-12 Networks)

• No. 4 Oregon vs 5/12 winner, 2:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

• No. 2 Washington State vs 7/10 winner, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

• No. 3 Colorado vs. 6/11 winner, 8:30 p.m. (FS1)

Friday, March 15

• 1/8/9 vs 4/5/12 winner, 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks)

• 2/7/10 vs. 3/6/11 winner, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)

Saturday, March 16

• Championship game, 6 p.m. (Fox)

Photos: No. 5 Arizona upset at USC, Pac-12 men's basketball regular-season finale