The USC Trojans get together with the No.2-seeded Utah Runnin’ Utes in the second round of the Pac-12 tournament at MGM Grand. The game starts at 9:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10 and will air on PAC.
The Runnin’ Utes won a close one over Colorado 57-55 in their last game. Jakob Poeltl fueled the Runnin’ Utes, recording 16 points and 13 rebounds to notch his 14th double-double this season. The Trojans, meanwhile, are coming off a 95-71 win over UCLA in the 1. Bennie Boatwright shot 6-for-13 and led in scoring with 19 points.
The game should be a battle of strength against strength, as the high-octane offense of Utah (25th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 114.6) takes on the top-notch defense of USC (23rd in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 101.7). Moreover, the Trojans are among the nation’s elite on the offensive backboards, ranking 11th in OR% at 32.6%. But the Runnin’ Utes rank seventh at corralling defensive rebounds with a DR% of 73.0%.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Runnin’ Utes won the first game 80-69. Poeltl recorded a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
Notes
In its last game, USC won by a margin of 24 points. Utah is 8-2 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. USC also has an 8-2 record in blowouts.
Ranked 15th, the Utah Runnin’ Utes have one of the top defenses in the country, giving up just 99.5 points per 100 possessions. The USC Trojans rank 74th in offense, scoring 110.5 points in the same number of possessions.
Utah has an average field goal percentage of 48.9% (ranked 12th). USC is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Utah Runnin’ Utes average 21.0 three point attempts per game, and the USC Trojans attempt 20.0 per game. When going for at least 20 three pointers in a game this season, both teams have winning records; Utah is 16-2 and USC is 15-5.
Utah ranks 47th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.32, while USC ranks 89th with an A/TO of 1.21.
Utah ranks 91st in rebounds per game with 37.8 and USC ranks 34th with 39.7 rebounds per game.
Utah ranks 27th in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, USC ranks 81st.
On average, USC forces a turnover rate of 16.9%. When Utah turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a solid 10-6 record.
