By Liam Baker

The 2024 season has not gone as planned for the Oregon Ducks. The Ducks (11-14, 2-10 Pac-12) will likely finish under .500 for the first time since Kelly Graves' first season as the head coach when then finished 13-17 in the 2014-2015 season. The Ducks have lost seven in a row, with six coming against teams ranked in the top 20. Unfortunately for Oregon, the road doesn't get any easier as they welcome likely WBCA Freshman of the Year JuJu Watkins and #10 USC (18-4, 8-4 Pac-12) to town on Friday night. The Trojans defeated the Ducks 68-54 in Los Angeles in early January in a game in which USC pulled away late, and the Ducks will be looking to get revenge and put a damper on what has been a dream season so far for the Trojans.

Oregon Ducks
The Ducks are at the end of a grueling stretch of seven straight games against ranked opponents but will be glad to be back on home soil where they have had more success this season. The Ducks are 8-4 at home this season compared to 2-10 on the road and have picked up both their Pac-12 wins while in Eugene. The key to success for the Ducks on Friday will be on the defensive end of the floor. The Ducks have held opponents below 40% shooting from the field 13 times this season and won 10 of those games. Furthermore, Oregon is holding opponents to 36.3% shooting from the field and 27.7% from three while at home. The Ducks' defense is anchored by junior Phillipina Kyei who leads the conference in rebounding with 11.96 boards per game. While Kyei will look to hold down the paint, the focus of the Ducks defense will need to be on the perimeter and containing JuJu Watkins. Oregon did a good job containing her during their first meeting, limiting Watkins to 17 points on 7-18 shooting, her second-lowest-scoring output of the season. Oregon will need to do the same if they want a chance at pulling off the upset. On offense, the Ducks are led by the trio of Chance Gray, Grace VanSlooten and Kyei. Over the last 18 games, the trio has scored 77.3% of Oregon's total points and they will need to be at their best to pick up a win over USC.

The USC Trojans
After a blazing start to the season which saw them win 14/15 games, the Trojans have slowed down a bit, going just 5-3 in their past month. Still, the Trojans are off to their best start through 22 games in 40 years and have National Championship aspirations. Additionally, they are all but a lock to host first and second-round games come March Madness. JuJu Watkins is scoring 27.7 points per game for the team leads the Pac-12 and is second nationally (Iowa's Caitlin Clark is first with 32.1 ppg). Watkins has scored 30+ nine times this season and recently scored 51 points in an upset win over Stanford in Palo Alto. Watkins isn't the only Trojan that poses a threat on the offensive end. McKenzie Forbes scores 13.4 points per game for the Trojans (13th in the Pac-12) and Rayah Marshall almost averages a double-double in addition to being third in the conference in blocks per game with two. Another reason behind the Trojans' success is their strong defensive capabilities. USC is a top-five defensive team in the Pac-12 in terms of scoring defense (60.3 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (38.4%).

Prediction
The Ducks have won nine straight home games against the Trojans, but it's hard to imagine that streak being extended to double digits. The Trojans are too good on both sides of the floor for the Ducks to be able to pull off the win. The Ducks should keep this one relatively close for the majority of the game but ultimately USC will pull away in the fourth to seal the win. You can watch the game live on Pac-12 Network at 7 p.m. or Tune in on KWVA 88.1 FM.
Ducks 50, Trojans 65