Bronny James, DJ Rodman Command the Boards as Unranked USC Upsets No. 5 Arizona

USC might not be making an NCAA tournament appearance this season, but the Trojans appear ready to play the spoiler.

DJ Rodman and Kobe Johnson each scored 19 points to lead USC to a 78-65 win over No. 5 Arizona on Saturday. Isaiah Collier finished with 16 points and Bronny James had five points and six rebounds off the bench as the Trojans won their third straight game.

USC has looked like a vastly improved team of late, going 4-2 over its final six regular-season games. The Trojans' two losses came by a combined six points. If this version of the team showed up earlier in the 2023-24 campaign, it's likely the Trojans would enter the Pac-12 tournament with a good chance of playing deep into March.

Instead, this talented-but-flawed group finished the regular season at 14-17 and will need to win the conference tourney to make the tournament.

Oumar Ballo and Keshad Johnson led the way for Arizona with 17 points, but no other Wildcats player scored more than seven points as they struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Leading scorer Caleb Love had by far his worst performance of the season, finishing with two points on 1-of-10 shooting. Love had scored in double figures in each of his previous 27 games.

Pelle Larsson finished with as many turnovers and fouls as points (five).

Despite the loss, Arizona will go into the Pac-12 tournament with a chance to re-enter the No. 1 seed conversation with a deep run. At the very least, the Wildcats should be a lock for a No. 2 seed.