March Madness 2018: USC has an easy path to the NCAA Tournament

The Pac-12 Tournament will first tip-off with a 9 p.m. matchup between Arizona State and Colorado. For USC, the Pac-12 Tournament serves as an easy way to cement an NCAA Tournament spot and participate in March Madness.

Conference tournaments are often overlooked during March Madness. Yes, there are the diehard college basketball fans that cannot get enough and will watch any game; big school or mid-major. However, the conference tournaments naturally get overlooked by the 64-team NCAA Tournament. For the USC Trojans, the Pac-12 Tournament serves as an easy path to the big tourney.

The USC Trojans are entering the Pac-12 Tournament as the number two seed; only behind the Arizona Wildcats. USC finished with a 21-10 overall record and a 12-6 Pac-12 record, beating out UCLA by one game for the second seed.

The tournament officially gets underway with a 9 a.m. tipoff between Arizona State and Colorado. At 6 p.m., Washington and Oregon State will square off for the rights to face USC in the second round. Regardless of who it is, the Trojans are set to tipoff at 6 p.m. Thursday.

Due to the natural seeding of the tournament and the past results, the path to the massive 64-team tournament seems like a cakewalk. Of course, all it takes is one bad night to send that all haywire. However, all the stones are aligned for the Trojans to be a serious part of March Madness.

As the second seed the Trojans are arguably in the best spot they can be. USC will face the winner of Washington and Oregon State; two teams who split the season series against each other one game a piece with a one point differential. Either team has a legitimate shot to win this game.

USC dismantled Oregon State in the teams’ two contests this year, however, they did drop the only game they played against Washington, 88-81. However, Washington has proven to be more than beatable in the last eight games of the season. The Trojans definitely are not perfect, but marginally better defense and better ball movement (41st in the nation in assists) give the edge.

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What makes the third seed so great for the Trojans is the potential semifinal matchup against Utah. USC won both games against Utah by a combined 33 point margin; the most recent win coming on February 24 without Bennie Boatwright.

Just like that, the Trojans are in the final of the Pac-12 Tournament. Sure, they do not match up well against either Arizona or UCLA but a win in the final is not necessary. While it does guarantee a spot, making it to the finals is perhaps all the guarantee the Trojans need.

The last runner-ups to miss the NCAA Tournament were the 2012 Arizona Wildcats, who were the fourth seed in the Pac-12 with just a 12-6 record. Second-seeded Cal was the only team to receive an at-large bid into the tournament.

Heck, the Trojans received an at-large bid with a 10-8 record last season, only making it to the quarterfinals in the Pac-12 Tournament. USC won the First Four game against Providence and defeated SMU in the round of 64. If that Trojans team can compete in March Madness, this Trojans team definitely can.

Next: Dissecting the matchups against Washington, Oregon State

Not only is the road to the Pac-12 Tournament finals a seemingly breezy one, the Trojans are also coming in off of a very solid regular season. With that, I would guarantee that the Trojans will be a part of March Madness this year.