Colorado at USC men’s basketball: Everything you need to know

A bounce-back shooting performance from 3-point range will be key against dangerous Colorado.

Colorado at USC

When: Thursday, 6 p.m.

Where: Galen Center

TV/Radio: Pac-12 Network/AM 790

Records: Colorado 11-6, 3-3 in Pac-12; USC 11-5, 3-2

Colorado latest result: The Buffs ran away with a 62-42 win over Oregon State last weekend, holding the Beavers to 18-for-53 shooting from the floor and forcing 19 turnovers. Colorado didn’t shoot particularly well from the floor (41.2%) but got into the lane and drew contact, leading to 21 free throws attempts. Forward Tristan da Silva was dominant in the post, scoring 17 on 7-for-10 shooting.

USC latest result: The Trojans lost their second straight game, a heartbreaker to UCLA, 60-58. USC came back from an 18-point halftime deficit with strangling defense to take a lead in the final minute before the Bruins hit a 3-pointer to end the hopes of stealing a win at Pauley Pavilion. Reese Dixon-Waters played a key role off the bench in the comeback attempt, scoring 16 while making all seven of his shots. Only one other Trojan reached double-digits in scoring as Boogie Ellis finished with 10.

Matchup to watch: da Silva vs. Josh Morgan. The Colorado forward can be an explosive scorer, reaching 30 last week against Oregon. He will try to take advantage of matchups against USC’s smaller post figures, but the Trojans need the 6-foot-11 Morgan to bounce back from an unimpactful performance against UCLA to stymie da Silva in the paint.

USC trend to watch: In the Trojans’ last two games, USC has shot below 20% from 3-point range. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that the Trojans lost both games. A bounce-back performance would go a long way against the dangerous Buffs and, later this weekend, against Utah, one of the Pac-12’s best teams.