Wildcats have reasons to roar in rematch vs. USC

LAS VEGAS – There was an upset at the Pac-12 tournament on Wednesday.

I spotted someone at the hotel wearing an ASU shirt.

Kidding, kidding … I actually will be here all week … but, seriously, folks, I don’t see another upset coming Thursday in the game y’all really care about: USC vs. your Arizona Wildcats.

We’re all old enough to remember last Saturday when the Trojans manhandled the Wildcats 78-65 in Los Angeles. Arizona committed 18 turnovers, shot 38.7 percent and seemed to still be in post-celebration mode after clinching the Pac-12 regular-season championship at UCLA on Thursday night.

The loss seemed to flummox a fan or a few – or many – leaving them in state of, “Uh, WTH?

As luck would have it, I ran into Matt Muehlebach at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night, and I asked him, “Uh, WTH?”

“Two things,” he said.

“Yeah, I do think you had a letdown. It was a classic letdown. I think, secondly, USC’s good. They’re really good.”

In case you need a refresher, the Trojans were predicted to finish second in the league in the preseason Pac-12 media poll. They have won four in a row and six of eight, with the losses being a double-overtime defeat to a talented Colorado squad and a three-point setback at Washington State.

USC is healthy again, and that six-game losing streak earlier in the season when it was missing its best players doesn’t have much relevance when it comes to playing a game on March 14.

“They have a lottery pick (Isaiah Collier) and have a guy in Boogie Ellis who is going to play somewhere professionally. He can score at will,” said Muehlebach, who will be the analyst for the Thursday’s Arizona-USC game on the Pac-12 Network. “And they have a lot of other really good players. DJ Rodman is a fantastic player. I think Kobe Johnson has become a lot better. And so they’re finally kind of clicking.”

When you combine the two – the Wildcats not really being ready and USC playing up to its potential – and you get a result such as the one on Saturday.

The Wildcats, of course, can only control that first thing. And I totally expect them to handle that order of business.

Let’s at least put it this way: Shame on them if they don’t see the first punch coming.

“I think we came out into that game very physical and we matched their pressure,” USC’s Johnson said of Saturday’s game.

“I think we’ve got to come out, just apply the pressure and physicality to them right away because I felt like last game, we did a perfect job shutting down their best players with physicality. As long as we do that, we’ll be in a good spot to do it again.”

Probably at some point while you reading this, you were thinking: “Wait. Arizona was playing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Wasn’t that motivation enough on Saturday?”

Good question. I asked Muehlebach, who drew upon his experience as a Wildcat.

“I wouldn’t make that argument,” he said. “I shouldn’t say that players don’t think at all about their seeding. But I think the amount of time they think about their seeding is like less than 10 percent or five percent. At least for me, I don’t remember back in the day really thinking much about our seeding.”

Related story from PHNX Wildcats: New athletic director Desireé Reed-Francois makes strong first impression

There is something of a tricky matchup problem, which is the same issue that caused the Wildcats issues in two losses against Washington State – length. For reference, the Cougars are No. 2 nationally in average height and the Trojans are seventh, according to KenPom. That length can disrupt Arizona’s preference to get the ball and bodies into the paint.

But, well, whatever. Arizona, with full focus, shouldn’t be losing Thursday.

The Wildcats need to make that loss serve a purpose. Let’s spin that subpar effort into a positive.

“One hundred percent,” Muehlebach said.

“Tommy gets pretty fired up after a loss and they seem to respond. If USC hadn’t beaten us last Saturday, I would have said a loss in the tournament might be a really good thing. Now, I’m not sure that’s a really good thing.”

Follow Anthony Gimino on X

Top photo: USC’s Kobe Johnson drives to the basket against Arizona Wildcats guard Caleb Love earlier this season. (Zachary BonDurant-USA TODAY Sports)