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The final Pac-12 men's basketball tournament, for the foreseeable future, opens Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas when ninth-seeded Southern California faces No. 8 seed Washington in the first of four games on the day.
It's win or go home for these two teams, which both finished with losing conference records. The winner of this game earns the right to face top-seeded Arizona -- the No. 6 team in the nation and the Pac-12 regular-season champion -- in Thursday's quarterfinals.
USC (14-17) might be the Day 1 team no one wants to face at present. The Trojans, led by guards Boogie Ellis and potential NBA lottery pick Isaiah Collier (both averaging 16.6 points per game), won three straight games to end the regular season and jump from the No. 11 spot to ninth place in the conference.
They have won five of their last seven games, including a 78-65 upset of Arizona in Los Angeles last Saturday.
"I know we're a nine seed or whatever, but I don't really feel like we're a nine seed," Ellis told the Orange County Register Monday. "So, I mean, whoever has to play us, we're definitely looking to prove that ... we expected to be a lot better this year.
"But, we kinda clicked late."
Washington (17-14) ended the regular season with a win over a Top 25 team, Washington State, last week.
The Huskies go into the Pac-12 tournament knowing coach Mike Hopkins won't lead the program going forward. After seven seasons at the helm, Hopkins is out as head coach when Washington's season ends, the university announced.
"I love the University of Washington," Hopkins said before his dismissal. "People have been great to me, great to my family ... I love coaching. Had a lot of great moments. Got to keep doing what we do. Got to finish up strong."
The Huskies are led by Keion Brooks Jr., who led the Pac-12 in scoring with 21.3 points per game and was named first-team all-conference.
--Field Level Media
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