It’s an old Pac-12 rivalry renewed for the chance at a tournament trophy. Arizona State versus USC men’s basketball for the Maui Invitational tournament championship.
Arizona took down Texas and Washington State to get to the final round, while USC defeated Boise State and Seton Hall. Both teams have grown and made great memories in Maui. But which team will head home with the first place trophy?
Follow along with all the live updates, analysis, highlights and stats from Trojans Wire writer Ethan Inman as unbeaten USC takes on 6-1 Arizona State in the Maui Invitational championship:
USC 77, Arizona State 69 — 4:00 2nd half
Chad Baker-Mazara was just nearly called for a Flagrant 1 after his elbows made contact with an Arizona State defender’s face. Playing with a technical and a flagrant would have made things even tougher on Baker-Mazara, but the call stood as a common foul after review.
USC 75, Arizona State 66 — 5:44 2nd half
Amarion Dickerson just blocked a shot off the backboard, but it was called goaltending. Eric Musselman challenged the play and it should be overturned. Heads up play by Dickerson to not only get the block but plead with Musselman to challenge the play.
USC 69, Arizona State 63 — 8:14 2nd half
Jayden Brownell has come alive in the second half again. He’s back to scoring in the paint and beyond the arc, and is up to 16 points on 6-10 shooting.
The Trojans shooting this well (60.5%) without Rodney Rice continues to be the biggest story. Perhaps both teams are a little tired after 3 full days of basketball.
USC 60, Arizona State 55 — 11:59 2nd half
Amarion Dickerson will be headed to the free throw line for the Trojans because he put in work on the offensive glass. He just got two offensive rebounds on two missed threes in a single USC possession before he was finally fouled and sent to the free throw line.
USC 56, Arizona State 47 — 14:52 2nd half
Chad Baker-Mazara is terrorizing the Arizona State defense. He just called for an isolation play and created his own step-back three off the dribble, which he drained. His confident emotion is coming in handy for the Trojans right now, rather than hurting them.
USC 43, Arizona State 43 — HALFTIME
A high scoring affair with Rodney Rice out?! Who could have seen this coming?
The Trojans have shot 60.7% from the field in the first half without their star. Eric Musselman probably wishes the Trojans played better defense (Arizona State is shooting 51.9 percent in its own right) but he will certainly take a tie at halftime of the tournament championship.
If Arizona State wins this game, it will be because they sped up the game in the second half. The Sun Devils have 11 fast break points while the Trojans have only 1.
With both teams playing their third game in three days and dealing with the fatigue and wear and tear that brings, it’s going to be a battle of wills in the second half. Do the Trojans have enough to bring home the Maui Invitational title? Buckle up and stay tuned.
USC 39, Arizona State 36 — 2:19 1st half
USC is really keying on taking Moe Odum out of the Sun Devils’ offense. He has only 7 points because he’s been able to take only 4 shots from the field.
USC is starting to get scoring contributions from around the roster, with Amarion Dickerson, Jacob Cofie and Terrance Williams II getting in on the action.
USC 29, Arizona State 27 — 7:29 1st half
Jaden Brownell started out 2-2 on threes, but he’s hunting for his shots all over the court now. He now has 10 points on 4-7 shooting. He has the second most points (Baker-Mazara has 11) on the most shot attempts (7) for the Trojans so far.
Really interesting to see the Trojans put so much of their offense on the shoulders of someone who has played only 6 minutes per game for them to this point. It’s been a fascinating narrative to follow early in this game.
Chad Baker-Mazara techical foul
Baker-Mazara has an early technical for aiming a finger gun celebration at his Arizona State defender after making a long jump shot. That’s something to watch for Baker-Mazara, who often plays with a lot of emotion. Baker-Mazara would be ejected if he picked up a second technical foul.
USC 16, Arizona State 15 — 12:00 1st half
Unlikely hero Jaden Brownell has been an absolute spark off the bench for USC in the last few minutes. Brownell came in and made an open corner three, which clearly inspired his confidence, because he followed it up with a deep three from the wing.
If he can provide consistent shooting all game long, that would be huge for the Trojans trying to navigate the absence of Rodney Rice offensively.
USC 9, Arizona State 11 — 15:37 1st half
As you’d expect, it’s all the Chad-Baker Mazara and Ezra Ausar show early with Rodney Rice out. Baker-Mazara has 5 early points (2-3 shooting) and Ausar has 4 (2-2 shooting including a nice midrange jumper).
The Trojans have held Maurice Odom scoreless so far but the other Sun Devils have stepped up and given Arizona State an early lead. Santiago Trouet leads Arizona State with 5 points.
Rodney Rice update
Rodney Rice is not in the starting lineup for the Trojans after injuring his shoulder yesterday against Seton Hall. He will be out for the entirety of the game. Jerry Easter II has replaced him in the starting five.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC men’s basketball vs Arizona State — live updates, stats, analysis
Reporting by Ethan Inman, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
