USC tops Washington in Pac-12 tourney, boosts NCAA hopes

By MIKE CRANSTON
Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Southern California's quest to reach the NCAA Tournament likely couldn't survive a loss to one of the Pac-12's worst teams.

The Trojans prevailed, and while it was a struggle, coach Andy Enfield believes they've now done enough to earn a bid.

Chimezie Metu had 24 points and nine rebounds, and USC withstood a poor start and sloppy finish to hold off Washington 78-73 on Wednesday night in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

Bennie Boatwright added 13 points for the sixth-seeded Trojans, who rallied from 10 points down in the first half and then nearly blew a 14-point lead before securing a spot in Thursday's quarterfinals against No. 3 UCLA.

"Our RPI is in the high 30s and we're 24-8, so we feel like we're in pretty good shape for the NCAA Tournament," Enfield said.

David Crisp had 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Huskies (9-22) but missed a game-tying 3-point attempt in the closing seconds. Noah Dickerson scored 18 points, but Washington was undone by 10 second-half turnovers in its school-record 13th straight loss.

Washington, holding an RPI of 202 entering the day, played without potential No. 1 NBA draft pick Markelle Fultz for a fourth straight game. The Pac-12 top scorer sat out with a sore knee, meaning the freshman's college career is likely over.

The question now is whether coach Lorenzo Romar will return. He said a report that indicated it had been decided he will be retained was false.

"I have not received any indications from the administration one way or another," Romar said. "It's an evaluation process going on right now."

Washington tied a school record for losses in a season, but the Trojans still struggled for much of the night. USC didn't put it away until Shaqquan Aaron hit two free throws with 3 seconds left.

Aaron had missed two free throws with 21 seconds remaining and De'Anthony Melton missed one with 34 seconds to go.

"When you miss two or three or four free throws at the end of the game, you give yourself a chance to lose," Enfield said. "We didn't lose tonight, but you saw in the NCAA Tournament last year we couldn't make free throws."

Washington came out hot in the teams' second meeting in five days, with Matisse Thybulle (14 points) hitting three straight 3-pointers to put the 11th-seeded Huskies up 37-27.

But USC switching to a zone and Metu's play inside fueled a 10-2 run to close the half. The Trojans took their first lead early in the second half on consecutive dunks by Metu.

Things unraveled for the Huskies from there. Malik Dime had to leave briefly with an apparent finger injury after blocking a shot. Then a foul and ensuing technical foul on Carlos Johnson led to Boatwright hitting four straight free throws and USC soon led by 14.

But late miscues led to some tense moments before Crisp's straightaway 3 clanged off the rim.

"It's on us as players," guard Jordan McLaughlin said of USC's inconsistency. "The coaches do a good job getting us ready for the game. Defensive strategy and everything, they set it up perfectly, and it's on us to come and play with energy."

BIG PICTURE

Washington: Romar did sign Michael Porter Jr., the No. 1 player in the 2017 recruiting class, which could help him avoid getting fired.

USC: Thanks to a recent four-game losing streak and only two wins over AP Top 25 teams (UCLA, No. 12 SMU), falling to the downtrodden Huskies might have extinguished the Trojans' NCAA Tournament hopes.

FULTZ'S LAST SHOT

Maybe Fultz should have tried to play while sitting on the bench. The freshman posted a video on his Twitter account from the shootaround in which he made a shot from the first row of the stands behind the basket.

UP NEXT

Washington: Romar, the Pac-12's longest-tenured coach, hopes to return for a 16th season. "I think that our administration is very supportive," he said.

USC: The Trojans split two games with UCLA, but the last meeting was ugly. The Bruins rolled at home, 102-70 on Feb. 18, and are hoping to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Pac-12 Conference Releases 2017 Football Schedule

By PAC-12 CONFERENCE | Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference announced today its 2017 football schedule that pairs a competitive nine-game Conference schedule with a non-conference slate that includes 15 contests against teams that played in a bowl game this past season. In all, nearly a third of the Pac-12’s non-conference schedule pits the league against a Power 5 conference or major independent opponent, including three contests against the Big Ten Conference and two against both the Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences.

Every football game played at Pac-12 sites will be televised. A combination of the ESPN channels, ABC, FOX and FOX Sports 1 will broadcast 44 games nationally and Pac-12 Networks will offer 35 games to a national audience. Exact broadcast schedules will be determined at a later date.

The 2017 season is scheduled to get under way with nine home non-conference match ups in the opening week that include Southeastern Conference opponent Texas A&M at UCLA and Cotton Bowl participant Western Michigan at USC. The second week features the Pac-12 opener with STANFORD at USC on Saturday, September 9, along with seven non-conference clashes with teams that participated in bowl games following the 2016 season.

The 2017 Conference schedule features three games on two Thursday night dates that includes a key league matchup between STANFORD at OREGON STATE on Thursday, October 26. In addition, the schedule’s nine games on seven Friday dates feature COLORADO hosting Colorado State on Friday, September 1, WASHINGTON at STANFORD on Friday, November 10, and CALIFORNIA at UCLA and OREGON STATE at OREGON the day after Thanksgiving on Friday, November 24.

In addition, traditional rivalry games will be played over the last two weeks of the season, followed by the Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on either Friday, December 1 or Saturday, December 2.

2017 Pac-12 Football Schedule
(Subject to change)

Thurs., Aug. 31

New Mexico State at ARIZONA STATE

North Dakota at UTAH

Fri., Sept. 1

Colorado State vs. COLORADO (1)

WASHINGTON at Rutgers

Sat., Sept. 2

Northern Arizona at ARIZONA

Western Michigan at USC

Texas A&M at UCLA

Southern Utah at OREGON

Portland State at OREGON STATE

Montana State at WASHINGTON STATE

CALIFORNIA at North Carolina

STANFORD at Rice

Sat., Sept. 9

Houston at ARIZONA

San Diego State at ARIZONA STATE

STANFORD at USC

Hawai’i at UCLA

Texas State at COLORADO

UTAH at BYU

Nebraska at OREGON

Minnesota at OREGON STATE

Montana at WASHINGTON

Boise State at WASHINGTON STATE

Weber State at CALIFORNIA

Sat., Sept. 16

ARIZONA at UTEP

ARIZONA STATE at Texas Tech

Texas at USC

UCLA at Memphis

Northern Colorado at COLORADO

San Jose State at UTAH

OREGON at Wyoming

OREGON STATE at WASHINGTON STATE

Fresno State at WASHINGTON

Mississippi at CALIFORNIA

STANFORD at San Diego State

Fri., Sept. 22

UTAH at ARIZONA

Sat., Sept. 23

OREGON at ARIZONA STATE

USC at CALIFORNIA

UCLA at STANFORD

WASHINGTON at COLORADO

OREGON STATE at Colorado State

Nevada at WASHINGTON STATE

Fri., Sept. 29

USC at WASHINGTON STATE

Sat., Sept. 30

ARIZONA STATE at STANFORD

COLORADO at UCLA

CALIFORNIA at OREGON

WASHINGTON at OREGON STATE

Sat., Oct. 7

ARIZONA at COLORADO

OREGON STATE at USC

STANFORD at UTAH

WASHINGTON STATE at OREGON

CALIFORNIA at WASHINGTON

Fri., Oct. 13

WASHINGTON STATE at CALIFORNIA

Sat., Oct. 14

UCLA at ARIZONA

WASHINGTON at ARIZONA STATE

UTAH at USC

COLORADO at OREGON STATE

OREGON at STANFORD

Sat., Oct. 21

ARIZONA at CALIFORNIA

ARIZONA STATE at UTAH

USC at Notre Dame

OREGON at UCLA

COLORADO at WASHINGTON STATE

Thurs., Oct. 26

STANFORD at OREGON STATE

Sat., Oct. 28

WASHINGTON STATE at ARIZONA

USC at ARIZONA STATE

UCLA at WASHINGTON

CALIFORNIA at COLORADO

UTAH at OREGON

Fri. Nov. 3

UCLA at UTAH

Sat., Nov. 4

ARIZONA at USC

COLORADO at ARIZONA STATE

OREGON at WASHINGTON

OREGON STATE at CALIFORNIA

STANFORD at WASHINGTON STATE

Fri., Nov. 10

WASHINGTON at STANFORD

Sat., Nov. 11

OREGON STATE at ARIZONA

ARIZONA STATE at UCLA

USC at COLORADO

WASHINGTON STATE at UTAH

Sat., Nov. 18

ARIZONA at OREGON

ARIZONA STATE at OREGON STATE

UCLA at USC

UTAH at WASHINGTON

CALIFORNIA at STANFORD

Fri., Nov. 24

CALIFORNIA at UCLA

OREGON STATE at OREGON

Sat., Nov. 25

ARIZONA at ARIZONA STATE

COLORADO at UTAH

WASHINGTON STATE at WASHINGTON

Notre Dame at STANFORD

Fri., Dec. 1 or Sat., Dec. 2

Pac-12 Football Championship Game (2) (ESPN)

(1) Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colo. (2) Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.