• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Arkansas looks to keep momentum going against USC

Mar 16, 2007 - 1:53 PM Arkansas (21-13) at USC (23-11) 9:55 pm EDT

SPOKANE, Washington (Ticker) - Arkansas used a run to the Southeastern Conference tournament final to grab an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.

The 12th-seeded Razorbacks look to carry the momentum into Friday's NCAA first-round East Region game against fifth-seeded Southern California.

Prior to losing to defending national champion Florida in the SEC title game, Arkansas (21-13) had won five consecutive games to snag one of the last four at-large berths.

The Razorbacks have four players scoring in double digits, led by SEC Freshman of the Year Patrick Beverley, who is averaging 13.8 points.

Arkansas, which won the national title in 1994, is making its 29th NCAA appearance. The Razorbacks have reached the Final Four six times.

USC (23-11) has lost in the Pac-10 tournament final three times, including an 81-57 drubbing by Oregon on March 10.

The Trojans had one of their worst shooting games of the season (37.5 percent) in losing to the Ducks, a team they had defeated twice in the regular season.

USC is making its first NCAA appearance since the 2002 season, when it lost its first-round game to UNC-Wilmington in overtime. That dropped the Trojans to 9-14 all-time in the tournament.

Junior swingman Nick Young averages 17.4 points and freshman forward Taj Gibson adds 11.8 and 8.6 rebounds to pace USC, which ranks first in the Pac-10 in field goal percentage defense at 39 percent. Guards Lodrick Stewart and Gabe Pruitt also average in double figures.

The winner will face either fourth-seeded Texas or 13th-seeded New Mexico State in Sunday's second round.