LOS ANGELES — It started as an offensive rebound off a missed free throw, something that will drive any coach crazy. But USC recovered well to defend the possession. Boogie Ellis poked the ball away from Arizona’s Cedric Henderson Jr., setting up a USC fast break.
But the ball bounced off of Tre White’s foot, and then Ellis’ hands. Arizona guard Kylan Boswell grabbed the loose ball and put up a jumper late in the shot clock. Swish.
It was just one of those nights for USC in an 87-81 loss to No. 8 Arizona in which nothing seemed to go the Trojans’ way.
No matter which way you looked at this game, USC (21-9 overall, 13-6 Pac-12) could not match up man for man with Arizona (25-5, 14-5). The Trojans’ traditional four-guard lineup did not stand up to the Wildcats’ frontcourt duo of Azoulas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo.
USC started the game with center Joshua Morgan dropped back under the rim, allowing Ballo to roam freely along the perimeter. White was responsible for Tubelis but had a 4-inch disadvantage against the All-Pac-12 forward. Even with Morgan back helping, White could do little to slow down Tubelis, who finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Then when USC went with a two-big lineup to try to compensate, it messed up USC’s spacing on offense. There were possessions in which Morgan and Vincent Iwuchukwu ran up the court, posted up on opposite sides of the key and waved their hands in rhythm together for an in-bound pass as the USC ball handler stared in at the occupied paint.
This was especially problematic on a night when Ellis was the only reliable Trojan on offense. He scored 11 of USC’s first 16 points, zig-zagging through defenders to the rim. Coach Andy Enfield took him out for a 35-second breather, only to realize he lost his entire offense with the senior guard on the bench.
But Enfield had no choice but to pull Ellis with two minutes left in the first half when the guard picked up his third foul, just as guard Kobe Johnson…
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