USC - Arizona State Notes

USC made a furious comeback against Arizona on Thursday night scoring 47 points in the second half. The scoring spree continued on Sunday against Arizona State in a hold your breath 82-79 victory. With the win, the Trojans move to 4-4 in conference play and get some momentum heading into a much anticipated match-up with cross-town rival UCLA (who they went 3-0 against last year) on Wednesday.

Game Notes:

Last year, in USC’s home game against ASU, the Trojans led by double-digits for most of the game. In the final minutes, the Sun Devils went on a torrid last minute run and even had a chance to take a lead with just over a minute left. Tra Holder missed a 3 and USC ended the game on a 10-2 run. This time around, USC was in control for the ball game until another rapid comeback by Arizona State. All of a sudden, it was a 3 point game with the Sun Devils inbounding the ball. Bobby Hurley drew up a beautiful out-of-bounds play to get Torian Graham a wide open look, but the elite athlete couldn’t knock it down. USC held on and forced a Shannon Evans miss to end the game.

Elijah Stewart had struggled in PAC-12 play. The high flying wing had scored 8,10,9,7,0, and 11 points in his first six conference games. Against Arizona, Stewart looked sluggish in the first half with just two points before he hit a 3 entering the half. In the second half, Stewart regained a missing bounce to his step and finished the game with 20 points on five 3’s. The 6’5” junior wasted no time on Sunday scoring 13 quick points in the first 10 minutes of the game on a mixture of 3’s and athletic finishes and ended the game with 29 points on seven 3’s. Stewart hunted his shot from the get go against ASU and will look to continue his hot streak against UCLA.

USC took ONE free throw in the first 38 minutes and finished just 2-3 from the game. It just goes to show that you don’t need free throws when you are cooking from the outside. For the game, USC shot 52% from outside making 14-27. In addition, the team had 22 assists. Ball movement and hot shooting is always a recipe for success.

Andy Enfield went with a different starting line-up as freshman Jonah Matthews got the start. The 6’3” guard attacked the basket in the first half and had his jumper going in the second half as he scored 14 points on 12 shots. Arizona State certainly did not have formidable big men like Arizona did, so the move provided more offensive flexibility with five scoring threats out on the floor.

De’Anthony Melton is a stat stuffing machine despite standing just 6’4”. His shot was off against Arizona State and he went scoreless for the first time in his career. Even though he went scoreless, Melton had 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 2 steals. Given his versatility, I wouldn’t be surprised if Melton saw a decent amount of action against Lonzo Ball on Wednesday.  

USC played just two bench players. Freshmen Nick Rakocevic turned in one of his best games of the season and Shaqquan Aaron provided steady minutes when he was in the game. Rakocevic finished with 11 points and 8 rebounds as he never forced the issue and finished when the opportunity presented itself. Aaron knocked in his first shot of the game from the right wing and added in several rebounds and a nice assist in the second half. The biggest contribution, only one turnover between the two.

Arizona - USC discussion

Lauri Markkanen’s Stellar Play:

One-third of the way through the PAC-12 season, 7-foot freshman Lauri Markkanen’s numbers are something to behold. He is currently No. 4 in scoring at 19 points per game and No. 8 in rebounding at 7.7 per game. Markannen also sports a 138.4 Ortg and is No. 2 in True Shooting % at 75.5, No. 4 in free throw percentage, No. 12 in 2point percentage, and No. 2 in 3-point percentage at 60% (18-30).

Markannen’s unique skill-set was on display at the Galen Center Thursday night. In the first half, the Finland native found a home in the right corner for several 3’s to start the game before moving to the right wing in the second half, and finally to the top of the key where he banked in the dagger to end USC’s comeback. On display, was an effortless jump shot. One with no wasted motion and an extremely quick and smooth catch to shoot motion. Markkanen’s fourth 3-pointer of the night, which came directly in front of me was extremely impressive.

 While Markkanen did not put the ball on the floor to attack the defense, he did register several tough shots around the basket. One came off of an aggressive offensive rebound and the others came on miss-matches with an undersized USC defender trying to guard Markkanen in the post.

With wiry strength and a decent wing span, Markkanen has turned into an inside-outside threat at Arizona. He more than redeemed himself from a poor performance in his first trip to Los Angeles where he went just 4-14 against a stout Gonzaga D. Tonight, Markkanen will match-up with another highly regarded freshman in TJ Leaf. It will be a battle of skill-sets as Markkanen is the better shooter and post-player, while Leaf is the better ball-handler and slasher.

USC Struggling, but Andy Enfield Deserves Respect:

USC turned in one of its most disappointing halves in recent memory scoring just 19 points against Arizona in the first half, before turning it on in the second half of a thwarted comeback. With the loss, USC fell to 3-4 in conference play while suffering their second home loss in three games. Last year the Trojans only lost two conference home games all season! Despite the tough start, I would argue that Andy Enfield is doing a better overall coaching job. Let me explain why.

It took two seasons of pain to build USC into a competitive team. In year 3, USC took the PAC-12 by storm as one of the most entertaining teams in league play. Without any distinguished seniors the Trojans averaged 78.9 points per game in conference play and played a fun up-tempo style of play. USC played well enough to earn an eight seed before suffering a one-point loss to Providence in the first round. The Trojans were expected to return their top seven scorers while adding freshmen De’Anthony Melton and Jonah Matthews. They would have had depth in both the front-court and back-court along with a dangerous bench and would have been in the top tier with UCLA, Arizona, and Oregon.

When 3-point shooter Kaitin Reinhardt transferred to Marquette, nobody really batted an eye as this just meant the bouncy wing Elijah Stewart would inherit the full-time starting role. But when 6’11” Nikola Javanovic (12.1 ppg) and 6’4” Julian Jacobs (11.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 5.5 apg) both declared for the NBA despite a lack of draft stability, things started to get dicey. Programs like Kentucky can withstand the unexpected loss of two starters, but not USC that was just beginning to establish its presence. Now, with the loss of those two players, the front-court was diminished as was the bench. Too often, the Trojans are forced to basically play 4 on 5 with sophomore star Bennie Boatwright hampered by injury. Freshman Nick Rakocevic is a year or two away from being a contributor and senior Charles Buggs does not have the skill-set to play big time minutes. Without Boatwright the Trojans offensive efficiency has dropped 7.3 points in conference play.

The Trojans still stand at 16-4 and could be 4-4 in the PAC-12 with a win on Sunday against Arizona State. USC won’t be taking UCLA to the woodshed three times this season, but Enfield does deserve respect for his coaching job with a roster that was expected to be much stronger. He’s played a plethora of full-court and half-court defenses throughout the season and has seen improved play from Chimezie Metu and Jordan McLaughlin, in addition to a break-out season from freshman jack-knife of all trades De’Anthony Melton. Once again the Trojans lack any key seniors and will add Chuck O’ Bannon, a McDonald’s All-American next season. While this year has been more challenging through the first third of conference play, the Trojans can still repeat their conference record from last year while stocking up for 2017-18.

Upset of the Day (+4 or more):

Louisville on the road against Florida State and Washington State at home against Colorado. Florida State is coming off a high scoring home win against Notre Dame, but will struggle with the tough Louisville defense. Meanwhile, Washington State has lost four in a row with two of the losses coming by 30 and 41 points. I’m expecting a better home performance against a talented, but winless Colorado team.

Pick of the Day: Iowa State +1.5 at Oklahoma:

One of my favorite betting angles is to bet against a team coming off a huge upset. Usually, I prefer that the upset takes place at home and the next game is on the road, but in this instance I will go with Iowa State to take down Oklahoma after their huge overtime win at West Virginia. The Cyclones are losers of their last two including a tough home loss to Kansas on Monday. Look for Oklahoma to fall back to earth on Saturday.