Oregon St. @ Southern California preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 20, 2018 ) Southern California 74, Oregon St. 67

After losing three straight road games, USC needs a strong finish in Pac-12 Conference play to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Trojans, who picked up a key 72-70 last-second victory over Oregon on Thursday night to remain tied for second with crosstown rival UCLA, will try to cap their second sweep of the Oregon schools this season when they host Oregon State on Saturday night.

The Trojans swept the Oregon schools on the road for the first time since 2008 last month and followed that up with the big win over the Ducks on Thursday night, winning on a layup by forward Chimezie Metu off an impressive crosscourt lob by point guard Jordan McLaughlin. "This is a huge win for us because we need every win down the stretch," USC coach Andy Enfield said. "We have four games left and we have to hold our home-court advantage. We need to play hard Saturday against Oregon State." The Beavers, trying to finish above .500 this season after a disastrous 5-27 campaign a year ago, had a two-game winning streak snapped at UCLA., 75-68, on Thursday and likely need to win their final five games to garner a top-four seed and a bye in the first round of the Pac-12 tourney. "It (beating USC) is a must for us," forward Alfred Hollins told Oregonlive.com. "We've got to get a split."

TV: 11 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT OREGON STATE (13-12, 5-8 Pac-12): The Beavers rallied from a 13-point deficit to take the lead in the second half at UCLA before poor rebounding and free throw shooting caught up them down the stretch. The Bruins finished with a 51-33 rebounding edge, including 18 offensive boards, and outscored the Beavers, who missed the front end of two key one-and-one's late, by 11 at the free-throw line. Hollins had a career-high 24 points in the loss for Oregon State, which has three players averaging double figures in forward Tres Tinkle (18.2 points per game), junior guard Stephen Thompson Jr. (16.4) and junior center Drew Eubanks (12.8).

ABOUT USC (18-9, 9-5): The win over Oregon was tempered by the loss of 6=10 junior forward Bennie Boatwright, the team's second-leading scorer (13.6) and rebounder (6.4), to a season-ending left knee injury that isn't expected to require surgery. "It's a shame when injuries happen to such hard workers and outstanding young men like Bennie," Enfield said in a statement. "Bennie has been such a valuable part of our program, and he was having another very good year, being a factor on offense and defense." Metu, coming off an 18-point, 10-rebound effort against Oregon, leads the team in scoring (15.9) and rebounding (7.4) to go along with 43 blocks while McLaughlin (12.2 points) and senior guard Elijah Stewart (11.0) also are averaging in double digits.

TIP-INS

1. McLaughlin, who had 11 assists against Oregon, ranks third nationally with an average of 7.6 per game and needs one more assist to tie Damon Stoudemire (663) for seventh place on the Pac-12 career assist list.

2. Hollins, a 6-6 freshman, is averaging 5.8 points on the season but has bumped that up to 18.3 points on 67.9 percent shooting over the last three games as a starter.

3. Oregon State has lost 20 consecutive true road games, including 15 straight in Pac-12 play.

PREDICTION: USC 75, Oregon State 69