Big Ten Conference counterparts on opposite trajectories meet Saturday in Eugene, Ore., when Oregon seeks a fifth straight win at the expense of Southern California, which is on a four-game skid.
Oregon (20-8, 9-8 Big Ten) returns to action for the first time in a week, looking to continue the momentum after a 77-73 overtime win at Wisconsin last Saturday. The victory over the then-No. 11 Badgers came on the heels of an 80-78 win at Iowa, and home victories over Rutgers and Northwestern.
With their surge, the Ducks climbed from three games below .500 in conference play to one game over and eighth place in the league standings. The Big Ten’s top nine avoid having to play in the opening round of the conference tournament, which tips off March 12 in Indianapolis.
USC (14-14, 6-11) heads into the final stretch of the regular season hoping to finish in the top 15 of the conference standings or else be eliminated from the Big Ten tournament altogether.
The Trojans head to Oregon on a slump that continued Wednesday in an 87-82 home setback vs. Ohio State.
USC is in a four-team tie with Iowa, Minnesota and Northwestern for 13th place, and all are a half-game behind Rutgers. The quintet are vying for three conference-tournament bids, and each of Minnesota, Northwestern and Rutgers own head-to-head wins over the Trojans.
A bright spot for USC amid its struggles has been the emergence of redshirt freshman Wesley Yates III. With 27 points on Wednesday, Yates has scored at least 21 points in each of the last three games.
“Wesley is a big part of what we are trying to do,” Trojans coach Eric Musselman said. “He’s taken the opportunity and ran with it. He’s one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten and I hope he is a big piece for us next year.”
The USC backcourt of Desmond Claude, Yates and Chibuzo Agbo lead the Trojans scoring at 16.0, 13.9, and 11.7 points per game, respectively. Oregon’s own trio of perimeter scorers – Jackson Shelstad (13.3 points), TJ Bamba (10.2) and Keeshawn Barthelemy (9.9) – complement the interior presence of 7-footer Nathan Bittle.
Bittle is averaging 13.3 points and 7.1 rebounds and his 23 points helped key Oregon’s win at Wisconsin.
Ducks coach Dana Altman will also look to sophomore Kwame Evans Jr. to make an impact inside for Oregon’s season-ending stretch run.
“When he plays and goes to the boards, he’s just a different player,” Altman said of Evans.
Evans had 10 points and nine rebounds at Wisconsin but struggled in Oregon’s 68-60 win at USC on Dec. 4, finishing scoreless with two rebounds.
–Field Level Media
