The USC Trojans look for their fifth straight Pac-10 Tournament win tonight as they face the No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The Trojans (19-13, 10-8) won the 2009 tournament, but were ineligible for postseason play last year while on probation. The Trojans beat Cal on Thursday, 70-56, to advance to their fourth straight Pac-10 Tournament semifinal for which they were eligible.
USC is in need of a win today to possibly gain an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. They have split their season series with Arizona, with each team winning on its home floor. The Trojans beat Arizona 65-57 at Galen Center on February 24, their fifth win over Arizona in their last six meetings in Los Angeles.
The key for the Trojans defensively will be trying to stop the Pac-10 Player of the Year. Derrick Williams scored 20 points in just 18 minutes in the Wildcats' win over the Trojans on January 29, making all six of his field goal attempts. However, in Los Angeles, Williams scored just eight points in 36 minutes in the loss, on 3-of-11 shooting. Williams scored 22 points last night in Arizona's quarterfinal win over Oregon State.
Here are tonight's probable starting lineups:
USC
- Guard: Jio Fontan
- Guard: Donte Smith
- Guard: Marcus Simmons
- Forward: Alex Stepheson
- Forward: Nikola Vucevic
Arizona
- Guard: Lamont Jones
- Guard: Kyle Fogg
- Forward: Derrick Williams
- Forward: Jesse Perry
-
Forward: Solomon Hill
For more Pac-10 Conference Tournament news and updates, be sure to stay tuned to this StoryStream. For more news on each specific team, be sure to read the SB Nation blogs Conquest Chronicles and Arizona Desert Swarm.