This Sunday, at 11 AM on the PAC-12 NETWORK, the USC Trojans will visit Eugene and attempt to dethrone the reigning Queens of PAC-12 basketball.

Can the Trojans take down the Ducks? All rise! Ionescu’s court is in session.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

SEASON THUS FAR

RECORD: 15-11, 5-10

BEST WINS: UCLA, Utah,

WORST LOSSES: #2 Oregon, Colorado,

COMMON OPPONENTS: UC Riverside, Long Beach State, Utah State, the rest of the PAC-12

LAST 5 GAMES:

• W (2/8) @ Utah, 84-80
• L (2/10) @ Colorado, 76-81
• W (2/15) California, 86-76
• L (2/17) #7 Stanford, 67-79
• L (2/22) @ #12 Oregon State, 61-68

SUMMARY: The Trojans had a respectable offseason run, winning all but one game against Texas A&M. Going into conference play 10-1 was a confidence booster for the program, though a win over the #21 Aggies would’ve given them some more credibility.

Oregon and USC share three non-conference opponents: UC Riverside, Long Beach State, and Utah State. All three opponents fell to the Ducks and Trojans, though the former outscored them by a combined 142 points while the latter did by 63.

Despite their strong start, the Trojans fell apart once PAC-12 play started. USC lost their first five conference games. Things started to look up after beating their rival, UCLA, but their optimism was quickly crushed due to being swept by the Arizona schools.

A couple of their most impressive wins have been over Utah and Cal, though they sandwiched a loss to PAC-12 bottom dweller Colorado. USC has some impressive athletes on their squad, but their chemistry is quite often lacking.

CONFERENCE COMPARISON*

• TROJANS score 68.6 PPG
• DUCKS allow 62.2
• TROJANS shoot 41.4% from the floor
• DUCKS allow 39.8%
• TROJANS shoot 26.2% from three
• DUCKS allow 31.8%
• TROJANS average 33.4 rebounds
• DUCKS allow 31.1
• TROJANS allow 72.6 PPG
• DUCKS score 84.1
• TROJANS allow 45.3% from the floor
• DUCKS shoot 50.1%
• TROJANS allow 36.0% from three
• DUCKS shoot 43.6%
• TROJANS allow 37.9 rebounds
• DUCKS average 36.6
• TROJANS average 13.6 assists/11.8 turnovers

(*all stats are from conference play)

PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR

Minyon Moore

5’8, Junior, Guard

Moore is averaging 15 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.8 rebounds. She’s hitting .457% of her shots from the floor and has had a tremendous amount of offensive success in six of her last seven games, the exception being her most recent outing against Oregon State in which she scored two points in 40 minutes of play. If the Ducks have another uninspired defensive showing like they did in the second half of the UCLA game, Moore could make them pay for it,

Aliyah Mazyck

5’9, Guard, Senior

One of the reasons why the Trojans played such a close game against the surging Beavers is due to the stellar play of Mazyck, who finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and two assists. USC will be looking to jump on the troubled Ducks through their talented guard play.

IONESCU’S VERDICT

The last two games have been a major wake up call for the #2 Oregon Ducks. Both losses have been without Hebard on the floor, but her absence is not the sole reason why the Ducks were outplayed.

Each loss featured poor three-point shooting and missed opportunities in the paint. Against the Bruins, an overly confident defense led to Oregon being embarrassed on their home court. If they wish to avoid their third straight loss, the Ducks will need to play with the intensity of a playoff game for 40 minutes- though the Beavers and Cardinal would love a repeat performance of Friday.

Hopefully Senior Day will provide some extra motivation.

THREAT LEVEL

13 out of 16 triple-doubles

SCORE PREDICTION

Ducks 71 - Trojans 66