USC basketball takes on the UCLA Bruins in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament with both teams hoping to use a rivalry victory to boost them out of a slump.
No. 7-seed USC lost four of their final five games while the No. 10-seed Bruins lost four straight games to end the season.
The Trojans, led by guards Julian Jacobs and Jordan McLaughlin, notched 20 wins for the first time since 2009, but still need a win in the conference tournament to ensure a place in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011.
On the other side of things, UCLA would need to make an improbable run through the conference tournament to punch their ticket to the big dance after a 15-16 regular season.