Sixth-ranked Arizona rolls past USC 70-49 in Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals
LAS VEGAS (AP) Arizona went to USC and lost by 13 points just five days before meeting the Trojans in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals.
The outcome this time was considerably different.
KJ Lewis led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points and sixth-ranked Arizona rolled past the Trojans 70-49 Thursday.
Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd called the loss to USC “a gift” during the week and re-asserted that after this game.
“Late in the year, we were playing pretty good,” Lloyd said. “We'd wrapped up the (regular season) Pac-12 championship and maybe we let our guard down a little bit and got exposed and our guys battled. It's kind of nice when you can have a week of preparation when you're on edge a little bit, and I think it sets up well. But you know what, (Friday) whatever time we play, you've got to be ready to roll.”
The top-seeded Wildcats (25-7) play fourth-seeded Oregon (21-11) on Friday night after the Ducks defeated UCLA 68-66. Arizona is two victories from becoming the first three-peat Pac-12 champion since the Wildcats won four straight in 1988-90 and 2002. There were no conference tournaments between 1991-2001.
Ninth-seeded USC ended its season at 15-18. The Trojans' four-game winning streak also came to a halt.
Jaden Bradley scored 12 points for Arizona. Pac-12 player of the year Caleb Love, who scored two points in the previous meeting with USC, finished with 11, Oumar Ballo posted his 17th double-double this season with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Pelle Larsson had 10 points.
Kobe Johnson led USC with 14 points, Isaiah Collier scored 13 and the Trojans shot just 35.7%.
“A lot of shots that went in for us last Saturday just didn't fall today,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “We just didn't convert when we had open looks, and also we were off balance too much when we got into the lane.”
Arizona dominated in nearly every way, beating USC in rebounds (44-30), second-chance points (19-4), bench points (32-3) and transition points (16-2).
“When you play a team back to back, you can learn from your previous mistakes,” Ballo said. “You can't do the same mistakes over and over again, and that got us last week. We got a great test to see how much we improved, and we take pride in getting stop after stop.”
The Wildcats remained perfect under Lloyd in the Pac-12 Tournament at 7-0. They also are 10-1 under his watch in Las Vegas, the lone setback a 96-95 double-overtime loss to then-No. 14 Florida Atlantic in December.
USC beat Arizona 78-65 to close the regular season, but Lloyd kept his Wildcats record of never having lost back-to-back games intact.
“We were way more hungry on defense this time around,” Larsson said. “We're obviously a really good offensive team, but it's defense we take pride in.”
Arizona broke open a close game late in the first half by going on a 12-2 run to take a 28-16 lead. The Trojans didn't score over the final 5:49.
USC finally ended the drought 11 seconds into the second half, but that did little to slow Arizona, which led by as many as 24 points.
“You're going to think this is crazy,” Lloyd said. “We didn't do one thing different (from Saturday). We did it better.”
BIG PICTURE
USC: Enfield called this season “challenging” given the boatload of injuries that hit his team. When finally healthy, the Trojans showed they were among the Pac-12's more talented teams, winning six of eight before Thursday with a pair of three-point losses. The question for USC isn't about this season, however. Can Enfield put together a team capable of competing in the Big Ten Conference?
Arizona: There were questions about how motivated the Wildcats would be after sleep-walking through the prior loss to USC and entering the tournament with little at stake. They figure to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, almost regardless of what happens this week. Arizona was focused from the beginning, and if the Wildcats can maintain that the next two days, it's difficult to imagine anyone beating them.
UP NEXT
Top-seeded Arizona will face fourth-seeded Oregon in a semifinal matchup on Friday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Joshua Morgan vs. Oumar Ballo (Wildcats gains possession) | |||
19:35 | Pelle Larsson misses three point jump shot | |||
19:33 | Pelle Larsson offensive rebound | |||
19:30 | Keshad Johnson turnover (lost ball) (Boogie Ellis steals) | |||
19:23 | Boogie Ellis misses two point layup | |||
19:21 | Oumar Ballo defensive rebound | |||
19:17 | Kylan Boswell turnover (bad pass) (Isaiah Collier steals) | |||
18:50 | Isaiah Collier turnover (bad pass) (Oumar Ballo steals) | |||
18:44 | Boogie Ellis personal foul | |||
18:33 | +2 | Keshad Johnson makes two point jump shot | 0-2 | |
18:15 | +2 | DJ Rodman makes two point layup | 2-2 | |
17:59 | Pelle Larsson turnover (bad pass) (DJ Rodman steals) | |||
17:49 | Isaiah Collier misses three point jump shot | |||
17:47 | Wildcats defensive rebound | |||
17:28 | Joshua Morgan blocks Kylan Boswell's two point layup | |||
17:26 | DJ Rodman defensive rebound | |||
17:02 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point jump shot | 4-2 | |
16:51 | +2 | Oumar Ballo makes two point layup (Kylan Boswell assists) | 4-4 | |
16:25 | DJ Rodman misses three point jump shot | |||
16:23 | Oumar Ballo defensive rebound | |||
16:23 | Joshua Morgan personal foul | |||
16:09 | Pelle Larsson misses two point jump shot | |||
16:07 | Vincent Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | |||
15:50 | Boogie Ellis turnover (lost ball) (Kylan Boswell steals) | |||
15:47 | Kylan Boswell turnover (lost ball) (Boogie Ellis steals) | |||
15:43 | Boogie Ellis misses two point jump shot | |||
15:41 | Kylan Boswell defensive rebound | |||
15:35 | +3 | Caleb Love makes three point jump shot (Keshad Johnson assists) | 4-7 | |
15:18 | Isaiah Collier turnover (traveling) | |||
15:17 | TV timeout | |||
14:57 | DJ Rodman shooting foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul) | |||
14:57 | Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
14:57 | +1 | Oumar Ballo makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 4-8 | |
14:37 | Vincent Iwuchukwu offensive foul | |||
14:37 | Vincent Iwuchukwu turnover (illegal screen) | |||
14:26 | Isaiah Collier personal foul | |||
14:09 | +2 | KJ Lewis makes two point jump shot | 4-10 | |
13:48 | +3 | Boogie Ellis makes three point jump shot | 7-10 | |
13:21 | Caleb Love misses three point jump shot | |||
13:19 | DJ Rodman defensive rebound | |||
12:50 | +3 | Boogie Ellis makes three point jump shot (Vincent Iwuchukwu assists) | 10-10 | |
12:29 | Vincent Iwuchukwu blocks Oumar Ballo's two point layup | |||
12:27 | Kobe Johnson defensive rebound | |||
12:22 | Oumar Ballo blocks Vincent Iwuchukwu's two point layup | |||
12:20 | KJ Lewis defensive rebound | |||
12:16 | Kobe Johnson shooting foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul) | |||
12:16 | +1 | KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 10-11 | |
12:16 | +1 | KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 10-12 | |
11:47 | Trojans turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
11:47 | TV timeout | |||
11:29 | KJ Lewis misses two point jump shot | |||
11:27 | Isaiah Collier defensive rebound | |||
11:15 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses two point jump shot | |||
11:13 | Motiejus Krivas defensive rebound | |||
10:54 | KJ Lewis turnover (bad pass) | |||
10:33 | Bronny James misses three point jump shot | |||
10:31 | Kylan Boswell defensive rebound | |||
10:12 | Jaden Bradley turnover (bad pass) (Isaiah Collier steals) | |||
10:10 | KJ Lewis personal foul | |||
9:51 | KJ Lewis personal foul | |||
9:45 | Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot | |||
9:43 | Joshua Morgan offensive rebound | |||
9:34 | +2 | Kobe Johnson makes two point layup (Boogie Ellis assists) | 12-12 | |
9:10 | +2 | Jaden Bradley makes two point jump shot | 12-14 | |
8:58 | Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot | |||
8:56 | Bronny James offensive rebound | |||
8:48 | Isaiah Collier misses two point jump shot | |||
8:46 | Pelle Larsson defensive rebound | |||
8:42 | Pelle Larsson turnover (bad pass) (Bronny James steals) | |||
8:41 | Jaden Bradley personal foul | |||
8:30 | Bronny James misses three point jump shot | |||
8:28 | Joshua Morgan offensive rebound | |||
8:19 | Kobe Johnson misses two point jump shot | |||
8:17 | Oumar Ballo defensive rebound | |||
8:07 | +2 | Oumar Ballo makes two point layup (Caleb Love assists) | 12-16 | |
7:39 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point layup | 14-16 | |
7:22 | Joshua Morgan blocks Pelle Larsson's two point layup | |||
7:20 | Wildcats offensive rebound | |||
7:19 | TV timeout | |||
7:08 | Kylan Boswell misses three point jump shot | |||
7:06 | Wildcats offensive rebound | |||
7:06 | DJ Rodman personal foul (Keshad Johnson draws the foul) | |||
7:06 | Keshad Johnson misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
7:06 | DJ Rodman defensive rebound | |||
6:55 | Kobe Johnson turnover (bad pass) (Kylan Boswell steals) | |||
6:43 | Kylan Boswell misses three point jump shot | |||
6:41 | Oumar Ballo offensive rebound | |||
6:37 | Kobe Johnson personal foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul) | |||
6:37 | +1 | Oumar Ballo makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 14-17 | |
6:37 | Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
6:37 | Isaiah Collier defensive rebound | |||
6:24 | Boogie Ellis misses two point jump shot | |||
6:22 | Wildcats defensive rebound | |||
6:08 | Pelle Larsson misses two point jump shot | |||
6:06 | Pelle Larsson offensive rebound | |||
6:03 | +2 | Pelle Larsson makes two point jump shot | 14-19 | |
5:59 | Trojans 30 second timeout | |||
5:49 | +2 | Isaiah Collier makes two point jump shot | 16-19 | |
5:49 | Caleb Love shooting foul (Isaiah Collier draws the foul) | |||
5:49 | Isaiah Collier misses regular free throw 1 of 1 | |||
5:49 | Keshad Johnson defensive rebound | |||
5:29 | Caleb Love turnover (bad pass) | |||
5:13 | Oumar Ballo blocks Boogie Ellis's two point layup | |||
5:11 | Caleb Love defensive rebound | |||
5:04 | Caleb Love misses two point jump shot | |||
5:04 | Oumar Ballo offensive rebound | |||
5:04 | Harrison Hornery shooting foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul) | |||
5:04 | Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
5:04 | +1 | Oumar Ballo makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 16-20 | |
4:44 | Isaiah Collier misses two point jump shot | |||
4:42 | Trojans offensive rebound | |||
4:42 | Pelle Larsson personal foul | |||
4:42 | Isaiah Collier turnover (bad pass) (Kylan Boswell steals) | |||
4:40 | Vincent Iwuchukwu personal foul (Oumar Ballo draws the foul) | |||
4:40 | Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | |||
4:40 | Oumar Ballo misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | |||
4:40 | Boogie Ellis defensive rebound | |||
4:13 | DJ Rodman misses two point jump shot | |||
4:11 | Oumar Ballo defensive rebound | |||
4:05 | Vincent Iwuchukwu blocks Kylan Boswell's two point jump shot | |||
4:03 | Vincent Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | |||
3:56 | Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot | |||
3:54 | Keshad Johnson defensive rebound | |||
3:50 | +3 | Pelle Larsson makes three point jump shot (Kylan Boswell assists) | 16-23 | |
3:30 | Bronny James turnover (lost ball) (Keshad Johnson steals) | |||
3:24 | Pelle Larsson turnover (traveling) | |||
3:24 | TV timeout | |||
2:56 | Isaiah Collier turnover (bad pass) (Caleb Love steals) | |||
2:51 | Caleb Love misses two point layup | |||
2:49 | Boogie Ellis defensive rebound | |||
2:44 | Isaiah Collier misses three point jump shot | |||
2:42 | DJ Rodman offensive rebound | |||
2:36 | Motiejus Krivas personal foul | |||
2:27 | DJ Rodman misses three point jump shot | |||
2:25 | Motiejus Krivas defensive rebound | |||
2:15 | Caleb Love misses two point jump shot | |||
2:13 | Boogie Ellis defensive rebound | |||
1:49 | Boogie Ellis misses three point jump shot | |||
1:47 | Motiejus Krivas defensive rebound | |||
1:35 | Motiejus Krivas misses two point layup | |||
1:33 | Motiejus Krivas offensive rebound | |||
1:29 | Motiejus Krivas misses two point layup | |||
1:27 | Vincent Iwuchukwu defensive rebound | |||
1:08 | Vincent Iwuchukwu misses two point hook shot | |||
1:06 | Jaden Bradley defensive rebound | |||
1:01 | +2 | Jaden Bradley makes two point jump shot | 16-25 | |
0:44 | Oumar Ballo blocks Isaiah Collier's two point layup | |||
0:42 | Oumar Ballo defensive rebound | |||
0:25 | +3 | Caleb Love makes three point jump shot | 16-28 | |
0:02 | DJ Rodman misses two point layup | |||
0:01 | Keshad Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:00 | End of period |