Defenses will be the focus when No. 23 Southern California faces Oklahoma on Friday for the championship in the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
USC (4-1) held off Seton Hall in the second semifinal on Thursday after the Trojans nearly coughed up a 20-point, second-half lead.
The Pirates cut the deficit to three points with four minutes remaining, but a USC defense keyed by Joshua Morgan’s program-record 10 blocked shots and Kobe Johnson’s five steals helped the Trojans push through to a 71-63 win.
Boogie Ellis, who is averaging 21.3 points per game on the season, netted 22 to lead USC against Seton Hall. Isaiah Collier, averaging 19.8 points per game, scored 15 on Thursday.
“They complement each other well,” USC coach Andy Enfield said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Boogie is an elite scorer, but also can make a play for his teammates.”
Oklahoma (5-0) beat Iowa 79-67 in Thursday’s first semifinal as Jalen Moore led a balanced offensive effort with 18 points, leading four Sooners scorers in double figures.
Javian McCollum scored 14 points in the win, Otega Oweh added 13 points and Sam Godwin had 11 points as the Sooners built a late 20-point lead before a Hawkeyes surge made the final score closer.
The 79 points represented the Sooners’ lowest scoring output of the season thus far, and it was due in part to 4-of-20 shooting from 3-point range.
However, Oklahoma’s 86.6-point average through the first five games has been more a result of the Sooners’ outstanding interior scoring. Four Sooners come into the Friday’s contest averaging double figures: Oweh at 14.8 points per game, McCollum at 12.4, John Hugley IV at 11 and Moore with 10.3.
Oklahoma is also excelling at shutting down opposing offenses, holding teams to 35.2 percent shooting on field-goal attempts and 21.6 percent from 3-point range, both ranked in the top 15 in the nation. Teams are averaging just 57.8 points per game against the Sooners.
Godwin is contributing to Oklahoma’s stingy defense with nine blocked shots. USC’s Morgan has 18 blocks for the season, factoring into the Trojans holding opponents to 37.3 percent field-goal shooting and 26 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Morgan is averaging 3.6 blocks per game, among the top figures in the nation.
USC will be Oklahoma’s first Top 25 ranked opponent of the season, providing the Sooners the type of opportunity coach Porter Moser said at his media availability ahead of the tournament he was looking forward to at the holiday tournament.
“We’re in the best conference in the country in the Big 12. I mean, there’s nothing like it,” Moser said. “The last couple of years, our nonconference (schedule), we’ve had the (No. 2-ranked strength-of-schedule)? … (The players) know we’re going to play these type of games, and this is where you’ve got to continue to get better.”
USC, which opened its season with an 82-69 win over Oklahoma’s Big 12 Conference rival Kansas State, is 5-8 against the Sooners. Oklahoma won the most recent matchup 81-70 in Tulsa, Okla., back in 2018.
–Field Level Media
