The USC Trojans are still in search of their first Pac-12 Conference win of the season, and will try to get it Sunday afternoon as they host the Arizona Wildcats at Galen Center. The Trojans have struggled mightily this season, and especially of late as they have lost four straight and seven of their last eight games.
USC has not been able to find a way to find any kind of an offensive rhythm this season. They don't rely on their 7-footer Dewyane Dedmon as he is very raw on offense, so it comes down to either Maurice Jones creating a shot for himself or somebody else, or Aaron Fuller grabbing an offensive rebound to get a good look.
The Trojans have shot under 40% in nine of their 16 games, including seven of their last eight contests. The offense hasn't been pretty since the beginning of December:
USC Trojans On Offense | ||||||
Date | Opponent | FGM | FGA | FG% | Points | Result |
Dec 3 | at Minnesota | 16 | 49 | 32.7% | 40 | Loss |
Dec 10 | New Mexico | 17 | 51 | 33.3% | 41 | Loss |
Dec 17 | Georgia | 20 | 54 | 36.4% | 59 | Loss |
Dec 19 | TCU | 28 | 55 | 50.9% | 83 | Win |
Dec 22 | Kansas | 17 | 49 | 34.7% | 47 | Loss |
Dec 29 | at California | 19 | 56 | 33.9% | 49 | Loss |
Dec 31 | at Stanford | 16 | 46 | 34.8% | 43 | Loss |
Jan 5 | Arizona State | 21 | 55 | 38.2% | 53 | Loss |
Totals | 154 | 416 | 37.0% | 51.9 ppg | 1-7 |
The Trojans have actually had regular season success against the Wildcats of late. USC has beaten Arizona at home in five of the last six regular seasons, including each of the last three seasons, and is 7-6 against Arizona in the last six years, including one meeting in the Pac-10 Tournament last season.
Arizona is coming off a loss to UCLA at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Thursday night. The Wildcats are 10-5 on the season, but just 2-4 away from home. Arizona is led by their front court duo of Solomon Hill and Jesse Perry. Hill, a product of Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, has won Pac-12 Player of the Week twice this season and is averaging 12.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Perry averages 11.9 points and 7.5 boards per contest this season.
Sunday afternoon's 2:30 p.m. PST game will be televised by Fox Sports West. For more USC basketball news and notes, be sure to read Conquest Chronicles.