Pac-12 Basketball Notebook: USC a Hoops School? Sean Miller's Status
We begin the notebook with two questions
1. USC is a football school, isn’t it?
Well, the Trojans have won only one conference football championship in the past 12 years, but, yes, it is a football school, although Andy Enfield’s towering Trojans are challenging that label this season.
Men’s basketball has never been USC's strong suit. It’s been 36 years since the Trojans won a conference title and they had to share the crown in 1985 with Washington. It’s been 60 years since USC finished the regular season alone in first place, and its conference in 1960-61, the Athletic Association of Western Universities, had only five teams.
Since then the only current Pac-12 members not to finish alone in first place besides USC are Washington State, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado. Arizona State did not join the conference until 1978-79 and Utah and Colorado arrived in 2011-12. Even Washington State was not in the AAWU in 1961.
But the Trojans, who claim to be the tallest team in Division I, are making a run at it this season. They have won 10 of their last 11 games, and the 18-point win over then-No. 21 UCLA tied them for the top spot.
Granted, the absence of 6-foot-9 Cody Riley and 6-foot-10 Jalen Hill hurt the Bruins’ chances against USC. But limiting a ranked team to 48 points is impressive by any standards. USC’s starters measure 7-foot, 6-foot-10, 6-foot-8, 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-2, and that length makes it difficult for opponents to score from close range, a major reason the Trojans rank sixth in the country in field-goal percentage defense (37.9 percent).
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2. Why does Thursday’s game between Oregon State and Arizona seem like such a big deal?
This is about Arizona coach Sean Miller and his job security. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News brought up the issue this week when he wrote this about why Miller’s seat might be hot:
Well, there’s the FBI sting operation that found a former assistant coach guilty of federal bribery … and the NCAA investigation that led to Level One violations … and the 2021 postseason ban that serves as both acknowledgment of program guilt and plea for mercy.
In his response to why Miller might not be on the hot seat, Wilner said:
We have no earthly idea, except that university president Robert Robbins believes in Miller
Even back in October Gary Parrish of CBS Sports listed Miller as a coach on the hot seat.
Arizona recently recently received a notice of allegations from the NCAA that reportedly features five Level I violations, one of which accuses Sean Miller of lack of head coach control and is punishable by up to a season-long suspension. Given that two of Miller's assistants (Book Richardson and Mark Phelps) have been fired in the past three years for rules violations, I'm not sure there's a good way for Miller to argue that he did in fact have control of his staff. So it's possible, if not likely, that the NCAA will hit him hard. And if it does, there's at least a chance Arizona will finally decide it's time to move on and start fresh.
That report came before Arizona's self-imposed postseason ban, although the NCAA could still hit Arizona with more severe penalties.
There was talk when the investigation was under way that Miller’s job might be in jeopardy, but he survived, presumably because the Wildcats had been so successful on the court.
But that’s not true lately.
Two years ago, the Wildcats finished tied for eighth in the Pac-12 with an 8-10 conference record. Last year, they tied for fifth at 10-8. This season, Arizona is sitting in sixth place in the Pac-12 with a 7-6 record. And this is in a Pac-12 whose reputation as a basketball conference has taken a precipitous dive in recent years.
The Wildcats have lost three of their past four games, and if they lose Thursday’s home game to Oregon State, a team picked to finish last in the conference, Arizona would drop into seventh place behind the Beavers. The Wildcats could even fall into a tie with Utah, which would be 6-6 if it beats last-place Cal on Thursday.
After Oregon State, Arizona’s next three games are against Oregon, UCLA and USC.
Hmmm.
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We forge ahead with our weekly categories:
Top Five Teams (at the Moment)
---1. USC (15-3, 9-2) – The tallest team in the nation is using its height well
---2. UCLA (13-4, 9-2) – Don’t look now, but the Bruins have lost two of their last three games, barely beat Oregon State in the middle game and lost to USC by 18 points, Yeah, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were out, but they are fourth and seventh on the team in scoring.
---3. Colorado (15-5, 9-4) – Crushing Oregon State by 29 points (and the margin was 33 in the final minute) is pretty impressive.
---4. Oregon (9-3, 4-2) – We are aware the Ducks have won just once since January 9, but if Will Richardson and Chris Duarte can ever be on the floor together for an entire game, they will make a run.
---5. Stanford (12-7, 8-5) – We are not going to list all the obstacles the Cardinal had to overcome to get to this point.
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Pac-12 player-of-the-year-standings
---1. Oscar da Silva, Stanford (19.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks) – He always provides just what the Cardinal needs.
---2. McKinley Wright IV, Colorado (14.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists) – Buffaloes didn’t need him to do much in the blowout of Oregon State, and he didn’t do much, playing just 25 minutes. When he’s needed, it’s a different story.
---3. Evan Mobley, USC (16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 blocks) – The potential is scary, but not sure he will realize it this season.
---4. Tyger Campbell, UCLA (11.2 points, 5.9 assists) – When he has a poor game, the Bruins lose.
---5. Chris Duarte, Oregon (17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 45.1 3-pt%) – Demoted from the top spot because he just hasn’t played enough. We were ready to put Washington State’s Isaac Bonton or Arizona State’s Remy Martin in this spot, but both teams have losing Pac-12 records.
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Pac-12 freshman-of-the-year standings
---1. Evan Mobley, USC (16.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 blocks) – He only took six shots against UCLA and was still a factor in the win.
---2. Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona (11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds) – Averaged 17.5 points in two games last week.
---3. Josh Christopher, Arizona State (15.3 points, 4.8 rebounds) – He has yet to play a game in February.
---5. Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona (11.7, 4.7 rebounds, 45.0 3-pt%) – Not as consistent as teammate Tubelis
---3. Ziaire Williams, Stanford (12.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists) – He has not played since Jan. 15.
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Pac-12 Player of the Week
---Winner: Evan Mobley, USC – He did not have out-of-this-world numbers but he averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 66.7 percent from the field in important wins over Stanford and UCLA.
Team on the Rise
---USC (15-3, 9-2) – The Trojans have won 10 of their last 11, including the lopsided win over UCLA on Saturday.
Team on the Skids
---Arizona (13-6, 7-6) – The Wildcat’s only win in their last four games was against last-place Cal
Team on a Mystery Tour
---Utah (8-7, 5-6) – The Utes have losses to the two worst teams in the Pac-12 (Washington and Cal), but they also have a 15-point win over Arizona, a 14-point win over Stanford and a road victory over Colorado.
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Numbers of Note
11 – Consecutive games in which Washington has yielded at least 77 points, the longest such streak in the country. Defense was the Huskies’ strong suit two years ago when they won the conference title.
26.8 – Tyger Campbell’s shooting percentage in UCLA losses (11-for-41)
48.0 – Tyger Campbell’s shooting percentage in UCLA wins
8.3 – Tyger Campbell’s three-point shooting percentage in UCLA’s losses (1-for-12)
36.7 – Tyger Campbell’s three-point shooting percentage in UCLA’s wins
0 – Turnovers by Oregon State guards Ethan Thompson and Zach Reichle while combining for 15 assists and six steals in the win over Washington.
2 – Number of da Silvas who will be on the floor together at times during Thursday’s Colorado-Stanford game. Senior Oscar da Silva of Stanford scored 22 points in the first meeting of the teams, but freshman Tristan da Silva of Colorado came away with the win over his brother’s squad.
20 – Isaac Bonton’s shooting percentage in Washington State’s two games against Oregon State this season (6-for-30).
48 – Points scored by UCLA against USC on Saturday, the fewest points scored by the Bruins in nearly six years, since their 57-47 loss to Arizona on Feb. 21, 2015.
8 – Number of 20-point-plus games by Cal’s Matt Bradley, tied for the second-most in the Pac-12. Cal lost seven of those games.
9 – Number of 20-point-plus games by Stanford’s Oscar da Silva, most in the Pac-12. Stanford won eight of those games.
0 – Number of full games Oregon’s Chris Duarte has played since Jan. 9. He returned for the Feb. 4 game against Washington State but injured his ankle two minutes into the second half and has not played since. He is questionable for Thursday’s game against Arizona State and will be a game-day decision. The Ducks are 1-2 in those games since Jan. 9.
2 – Number of times USC freshman Evan Mobley has had fewer than two blocks in a game this season. He has had at least one block in all 18 games, and he had four in the win over UCLA on Saturday.
60 -- Years since USC finished alone in first place in its conference.
11 -- Number of head coaches USC had had since it last finished alone atop the conference standings.
4 -- Number of conference names USC has played under since last finishing alone in first place (AAWU, Pac-8, Pac-10, Pac-12).
5 -- Number of teams in the conference the last time USC finished alone in first place (USC, UCLA, Cal, Stanford and Washington were in the AAWU in 1960-61).
1970-71 -- The season USC had its best team ever, finishing ranked No. 5 in the country. Its only two losses came against UCLA, which, as the Pac-8 champ, was the only team from the conference to get into the NCAA tournament and then won its fifth straight national title. Paul Westphal was the Trojans' star that season.
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Quotes of the Week
“Brutal, brutal, brutal, brutal, brutal.” – Washington State coach Kyle Smith, describing Saturday’s two-point loss to Oregon State.
“Look, you’re not winning the game scoring 48 points.” UCLA coach Mick Cronin following the Bruins’ 66-48 loss to USC.
"Last year, guys were able to say, 'OK, we know we're going to have to play ugly to win.' This team can be maybe a little prettier, but it's still going to have to be really ugly for this group to win." – Cal coach Mark Fox after Thursday’s loss to Stanford, which was the Bears’ fifth straight loss. It became a six-game skid with another loss to Stanford Sunday.
“This is not a business you want to be in, nor a sport you want to play where frustration can be any part of it.” Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak, whose team has had some surprising wins and some surprising losses.
“My goal is to keep this team fresh mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally as we head through February. Because this has been a long year. And a trying year on everybody. So we’re just going to try to stay fresh and take care of business.” – Colorado coach Tad Boyle, on why he had a light practice Tuesday, one day after a win against Oregon State, the third game in a stretch of five games in 10 days.
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Top Upcoming Game This Week
---Thursday, February 11, at Stanford’s Maples Pavilion, 4 p.m., ESPN2 – Colorado (15-5, 9-4 Pac-12) vs. Stanford (12-7, 8-5) – The top two contenders for Pac-12 player of the year – Stanford’s Oscar da Silva and Colorado’s McKinley Wright IV – go against each other. Stanford needs to win to enhance its chances of landing an NCAA tournament bid, and Colorado needs to win to stay within reach of first place.
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Cover photo of Evan Mobley blocking Johnny Juzang's shot is by Gary A. Vasquez, USA TODAY Sports
Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
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