March Madness: The first-round was the best result possible for USC

The table is set. The USC Basketball Trojans are set to square off against Oregon State in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament to keep the March Madness hopes alive.

It was either going to be Oregon State or Washington. The 10th-seeded Beavers faced off against the 7th-seeded Huskies for the chance to face USC in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament. Prior to the game, Washington was the obvious favorites. However, Oregon State proved all of its doubters wrong and continued its pursuit to March Madness.

The Oregon State Beavers pulled away with a 69-66 overtime win over the Washington Huskies. USC will face Oregon State on Thursday at 6 p.m. pacific time.

USC faced Oregon State twice this season, winning both games by a combined margin of 20. Washington, on the other hand, defeated USC in the only contest, 88-81.

Just on the surface, the Oregon State Beavers seemed to be the better team to play. USC was able to defeat Oregon State even without Bennie Boatwright. Oregon State was the easy favorite for USC fans to root for in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

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And those fans got their wish. The Trojans avoided danger in Washington to take on Oregon State. A win puts them in the semifinals against Utah, Washington State or Oregon. If it is Utah the Trojans should not fear, they beat them both games this season.

Thus far, just after the first round, the tournament is playing out exactly how the Trojans could have wanted it. Yes, Oregon State is now riding momentum. But they are also coming off of an overtime game with no days of rest. That is going to take a big tole on them, especially against a rested USC.

Plus, no Oregon State player had a mind-boggling night. Having someone get hot at the right time is key to making a run in these tournaments (see: Kemba Walker). The Beavers top scorer was Drew Eubanks, who scored 19 on 7-8 shooting. That definitely is respectable, but he was not putting the team on his back in any sense.

Plus, the offense only scored 57 points through the two halves on a Washington defense that allows more points per game than USC. 57 points. USC’s defense is much tougher. If the Beavers could only score 57 on Washington, I imagine it won’t be a fun night against the Trojans.

Elijah Stewart cooks against the Beavers as well. Stewart has scored a combined 46 points against the Beavers in two contests. If he gets hot, there may be no stopping him for Oregon State.

Next: USC's path to the NCAA Tourney is easy

The USC Trojans are yet to step on the court during this initial phase of March Madness. However, the Pac-12 Tournament is already going exactly as planned.