USC Faces Oregon In Pac-12 Semifinals

The No. 2 seed USC Trojans (22-10, 12-6) will play the No. 6 seed Oregon Ducks (22-11, 10-8) in a Pac-12 Tournament Semifinal game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on March 9 at 8:30 p.m. USC's second-place conference finish was it highest since tying for second in 2002 and its first outright second-place finish since 1992. USC's 12 Pac-12 wins were its most since also finishing 12-6 in 2002. USC has won 11 of its last 15 games.

SUCCESSFUL STRETCH -- USC has won 20 or more games for the third consecutive season, just the second time in school history (2007-09). The 2008 team was 21-12, but had 21 wins and one loss vacated due to NCAA penalty, so technically this is the first time in school history with three consecutive 20-win seasons. The 69 wins over the past three seasons is the most in a three-season stretch in school history.

USC AGAINST OREGON -- USC defeated Oregon in the two regular season matchups, winning 75-70 at Oregon on Jan. 18 and 72-70 at home on Feb. 15. USC had lost 14 consecutive games to the Ducks entering this season. It was USC's first regular season sweep of Oregon since 2009, the last time USC won the conference tournament. USC leads the all-time series 62-56, which reflects two wins vacated by the Trojans due to NCAA penalty.

USC HOLDS OSU TO 48 POINTS IN PAC-12 QUARTERFINALS -- USC held Oregon State to an opponent's fewest points and lowest shooting percentage since the season-opener and won its Pac-12 quarterfinal game 61-48 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. on March 8. USC improved to 3-0 vs. OSU this season by holding the Beavers to 30.5 percent shooting. USC led 29-19 at halftime. OSU cut the lead to 6 points at 41-35 with 10:56 remaining, but USC went on a 9-0 run over the next 4:28 to build the lead to 50-35 and cruised from there. Chimezie Metu, who finished with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds, had 4 points in the spurt. Jordan McLaughlin scored the other 5 points in the 9-0 run and finished with 13 points, 4 steals and 4 assists. Jonah Mathews added 13 points, 10 coming in the first half. USC shot 45.3 percent for the game, but made 50 percent of its 2nd-half shots. USC outscored Oregon State 34-14 on points in the paint and 8-0 on fastbreak points. The win in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals advanced USC to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2011.

USC AT THE PAC-12 TOURNAMENT -- USC is 1-0 at the Pac-12 Tournament this season, its fourth consecutive year winning its first game. The win over Oregon State yesterday was USC's first game against the Beavers at the Pac-12 Tournament, the only team USC had not faced previously in the tourney. USC went 1-1 at last year's Pac-12 Tournament and is 16-17 all-time at the conference tournament, which reflects one win vacated due to NCAA penalty. USC has gone 1-1 in each of the last three Pac-12 Tourneys. USC won the 2009 conference tournament. USC is 1-3 all-time against Oregon at the conference tournament, falling 81-57 in the 2007 finals, the last time the two teams met.

McLAUGHLIN A COUSY AWARD FINALIST -- Jordan McLaughlin is one of 10 players remaining on the watch list for the Bob Cousy Award as the nation's top point guard. McLaughlin, a three-year team captain, is averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 7.4 assists this season. McLaughlin leads all Pac-12 players this season in assists with 236, which is fourth nationally. Last season he was the only player in the country with at least three assists in every game and he has accomplished that in all 32 games this season as well, running his nation's longest streak to 69 consecutive games with at least three assists (dating back to the 2015-16 season).

GOOD BALANCE -- USC was the only team in Pac-12 play to rank in the top 5 in scoring offense (5th, 75.8) and scoring defense (2nd, 70.0). Its +5.8 scoring margin was 2nd in Pac-12 play.

PROTECTING THE ROCK -- USC ranks 10th in the country with a 1.52 assist to turnover ratio through games of March 8. USC also ranks 13th in fewest turnovers per game at 10.4 per game. USC leads all Pac-12 teams in both categories.

McLAUGHLIN & METU NAMED TO ALL-PAC-12 TEAM -- Senior guard Jordan McLaughlin and junior forward Chimezie Metu have been named to the 2017-18 All-Pac-12 First Team, it was announced by the conference on March 5. McLaughlin was also named to the All-Defensive First Team and Metu was named honorable mention for the All-Defensive Team. Metu was an All-Pac-12 second-team selection in 2016-17.

DEFENSIVE CHARGE -- Since allowing Washington to shoot 67.3 percent in a loss on Dec. 29, the highest shooting percentage by a Trojan opponent since 2003, USC has combined to hold its last 18 opponents to a 42.9 shooting percentage (410-for-956), despite allowing Arizona to make 56.1 percent of its shots on Feb. 10 and UCLA to make 50.8 percent on March 3. USC has held the opposition to an average of 67.8 points in that span (1220 total). In the 18 games, USC has registered 127 steals (7.1 spg) and forced 251 turnovers (13.9 topg). USC is 9-0 this season when holding the opposition to under 40 percent shooting and 11-1 when forcing it into 15 or more turnovers. USC's opponents take 19.0 seconds per possesion before shooting, tops in the country.

Players Mentioned

Jonah Mathews

Jordan McLaughlin

Chimezie Metu