USC at Colorado
When: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Where: CU Events Center (Boulder, Colo.)
TV/Radio: ESPN 2/AM 790
Records: USC 19-8, 11-5 in Pac-12; 15-13, 7-10
Last meeting: USC held on for a 68-61 win over the Buffs at Galen Center. Colorado got within one with two minutes to play, but the Trojans hit their free throws and forced turnovers to hold on for the win behind Drew Peterson’s 15 points.
USC last result: Boogie Ellis scored a career-high 33 points and distributed a career-high seven assists in the Trojans’ 85-75 win over Stanford. Ellis was aided by a 21-point, seven-rebound performance by Drew Peterson and the return of center Joshua Morgan (ankle) and guard Reese Dixon-Waters (leg) after four-game absences.
Colorado last result: The Buffs tried to fight back, but did not have enough firepower to get close on the road against Arizona, losing 78-68. Colorado was dominated in the paint as Arizona’s starting bigs Oumar Ballo and Azoulas Tubelis combined for 31 points and 20 rebounds. The way Colorado shot the ball (38.7% from the floor, 29.2% from 3) did not allow the Buffs to overcome this disadvantage.
Matchup to watch: Morgan and Vincent Iwuchukwu vs. Tristan da Silva. The Buffs proved vulnerable in the paint against Arizona. Morgan and Iwuchukwu will have to look to get involved in the USC offense early and often on Thursday to put pressure on Colorado and its best player, da Silva, and try to get him into foul trouble. Morgan looked solid on defense in his return from an ankle sprain but wasn’t heavily involved on offense, while Iwuchukwu had one of his quieter nights. USC will need them if it can steal a big road victory.
Read the full article here
