The USC Trojans host the Utah Utes Saturday night in a battle of the two worst teams in the Pac-12 Conference. This is the first meeting between the two teams as conference foes, and the first time they have played since December 2, 2000, a 65-60 win for the Trojans.
Saturday night's 8 p.m. PST game will be televised by Prime Ticket, with Paul Sunderland on play-by-play and former USC point guard Brandon Granville provided color commentary, with Amy Bender reporting from the sideline.
USC (5-16, 0-8) has been in free fall mode, losing their last nine games and 12 of their last 13 contests, and are down to just six scholarship players on the active roster. The latest injury is a torn MCL in the left knee of center Dewayne Dedmon, who suffered the season-ending injury Thursday against Colorado.
Yet the Trojans are somehow favored by a whopping 12 points over Utah (5-15, 2-6). The Utes are ranked No. 309 out of 345 Division I teams in the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings, ranked No. 298 by the Sagarin ratings, and ranked No. 254 by NCAA RPI. USC is rated No. 192, No. 173, and No. 192 respectively in those rankings.
For more USC basketball news and notes, be sure to read Conquest Chronicles.