Oregon defeating No. 3 UCLA Thursday night suddenly made this game with No. 5 all that much bigger.
Before the first upset, it would have been really nice if the Ducks could get out of Los Angeles with a split. But now Dana Altman’s team can get greedy and go for the improbable sweep.
According to TrojansWire.com editor Matt Zemek, USC won’t overlook the Ducks.
It won’t be easy, however.
Yes, USC and its fans had hoped that the Oregon game would be manageable, primarily rooted in the hope that the Ducks wouldn’t have figured out their problems by tipoff time. Oregon’s win over UCLA clearly eliminates any notion that the Ducks won’t be ready for USC. The good thing from a USC fan’s perspective is that the Trojans are not going to be overconfident heading into this game. Oregon has USC’s full attention, which makes the game that much more interesting. If USC loses, the Trojans can’t say Oregon snuck up on them. No. Oregon beat UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. Oregon isn’t the bad team it was in the Maui Invitational or against Arizona State. USC won’t be overconfident. The problem for the Trojans: Oregon is obviously entering this game playing better basketball.
The Trojans are clearly not the same team they were a month ago when they were in the midst of running off 13 straight wins to begin the season. With USC slightly off its game and no fans in the stands should fall in the Ducks’ favor. Zemek said the schedule has played a big factor in the Trojans’ mild drop-off. But still, chemistry on the floor hasn’t been the same.
USC didn’t play a game for two and a half weeks. The Trojans then had the Stanford game, originally scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8 — postponed to Tuesday the 11th. USC had to fly to Berkeley, then home to Los Angeles for the weekend, then back to the Bay Area on Monday for the Tuesday afternoon game. That’s a weird schedule in which it’s very hard to get a rhythm, coming off a long midseason COVID pause.
Oregon and USC are scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
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