Arizona will try to finish off a weekend sweep of the L.A.-area schools and win its third straight game overall Saturday when it hosts USC in a game that will be televised live on FOX Sports Arizona at 5:30 p.m.
The Wildcats took sole possession of second place in the Pac-10 on Thursday with an 85-74 win over UCLA, their fifth victory in the past six games. Arizona (17-4, 6-2 Pac-10) is now just a game behind Washington in the conference standings and is off to its best start since the 2004-05 team under Lute Olsen started 24-4.
USC is coming off a 63-61 win over Arizona State, a game in which the Trojans survived two 3-point attempts by ASU on the final possession. Forward Nikola Vucevic, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound junior, had 26 points in the win and is now averaging a double-double with 16.5 points and a Pac-10-leading 10.1 rebounds per game.
The balanced Trojans are also getting 11.4 points per game from junior guard Jio Fontan, 10.3 from 5-foot-7 freshman Maurice Jones, 10.2 from guard Donte Smith, 9.7 from senior forward Alex Stepheson and 7.6 off the bench from Bryce Jones. Stephenson also pulls in 8.8 rebounds per game for USC, which is 12-9 overall and 4-4 in Pac-10 play.
Vucevic and Stepheson will be tested in the paint by Arizona superstar Derrick Williams, who is averaging 19.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. In his last four games, Williams has posted averages of 23 points and 11.3 rebounds while going 4 for 7 from 3-point range.
No other Wildcat is in double figures in scoring, but Solomon Hill (8.5 points per game), Momo Jones (8.3), Kyle Fogg (7.8), Jamelle Horne (7.0), Kevin Parrom (6.6) and Jesse Perry (6.0) combine for nearly 45 points per game. And they've been efficient -- Arizona's team field-goal percentage has risen to 47.8, good for 31st in the country.
The battle on the boards also will be key: Arizona is first in the Pac-10 in rebounding defense, allowing just 29.6 per game, and USC is close behind in second, allowing 32.3.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series with USC 56-39 and have won 17 of the past 26, including the previous meeting, an 86-84 double-overtime victory in Tucson last season.
