Coming into the week, the USC Trojans had fallen in the Pac-12 standings after losing to Oregon and Oregon State.
However, after Thursday night’s slate of Pac-12 games, the Trojans have jumped back into third place.
Colorado stunned Arizona State in Tempe. UCLA defeated Stanford and Washington State topped Oregon State, which was both expected outcomes.
Then, Arizona made easy work of Utah in an 88-62 final in Tucson. With both Arizona State and Utah losing and USC winning, the Trojans have moved back into third place.
When we jump ahead and look at Saturday’s slate, third place seems even more sustainable for USC.
The Trojans face Stanford at the Galen Center, and Utah and Arizona State face off in Tempe. So, if the Sun Devils win and USC wins, the Trojans will still hold third place entering next week.
With USC on the wrong side of the bubble entering the week — thanks to a terrible loss to Oregon State — every game matters, and getting a decent seed in the Pac-12 Tournament could make or break the Trojans’ hopes of an NCAA Tournament bid. USC wants no part of the No. 5 seed, which would mean having to play Cal again and take a hit in terms of strength of schedule. USC really does need to be a top-four team in the Pac-12.
The next few games will be crucial for USC for Pac-12 Tournament seeding purposes, and for that all-important bye in the first round.
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