Oregon (14-6, 6-3 Pac-12) vs. Southern California (8-12, 2-7)
Time/date: 7:30 p.m., Thursday
Site: Galen Center, Los Angeles
TV: ESPN. Radio: KUJZ-FM (95.3).
About the matchup: Oregon and USC opened Pac-12 play against each other at Matthew Knight Arena on Dec. 28 with the Ducks winning 82-74. Kwame Evans Jr. and Jackson Shelstad scored 22 and 21, respectively, to become the first freshman duo to score 20 or more in a game for Oregon since 1997-98. The Ducks have won three of the last four games against the Trojans and hold a 17-7 edge in the series since coach Dana Altman took over in 2010.
About the Ducks: Oregon is reeling after losing three of its last four games, but remains tied with Arizona for the top spot in the conference standings. The Ducks have struggled to beat good teams like Utah, Colorado and the Wildcats, so they have to get wins — even on the road — against bad teams like USC. N’Faly Dante elevated his play the past three games, during which he averaged 19.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. The senior center appears to be back at 100% since returning from a knee injury two weeks ago. Altman said Tuesday that guard Keeshawn Barthelemy and forward Mookie Cook are likely out for the remainder of the season. Barthelemy, a key reserve for the Ducks, injured his ankle in the game against Arizona last Saturday on a driving layup. He was tended to for several minutes in the court before being carried off. In 18 games — including six starts — he was averaging 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds, was second on the team with 42 assists and averaged 23.1 minutes. Cook, who has been battling injuries for most of his freshman season, is dealing with a foot injury that occurred during the game against Utah on Jan. 21. He’s played in just five games this season and 32 minutes total.
About the Trojans: USC has been a mess since the start of December. After opening the season 5-2, the Trojans went 3-10 the last two months and have lost five straight, with their only Pac-12 wins coming in back-to-back home games against Stanford and Cal in early January. Even so, USC does have elite guards in senior Boogie Ellis and freshman Isaiah Collier. Ellis, who missed three games with an injury before returning against UCLA last Saturday, is averaging 18.1 points, 3.38 assists and leads the conference with an average of 3.31 made 3-pointers per game. Collier is averaging 15.38 points and 4.13 assists. During its five-game losing streak, USC is averaging just 61.2 points per game, including a season-low 50-point performance in the loss to the Bruins.
Follow Chris Hansen on Twitter@chansen_RG or email at[email protected].