GAME NOTES: The first round of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament rolls on Wednesday with a matchup pitting the 12th-seeded USC Trojans against the fifth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The winner of this contest moves on to Thursday's quarterfinal round of the tournament to face fourth-seeded UCLA.

USC struggled all throughout the season, earning an 11-19 overall record with a 3-15 mark in conference play. The Trojans come into the postseason having lost four of their last five games overall, with a regular-season finale defeat against UCLA, 85-74.

Arizona State is riding a bit of a momentum as it gets set for the first round of the tournament. The Sun Devils have won back-to-back games over Stanford (67-62) and California (74-70) to reach 17-14 overall with a 9-9 ledger against Pac-12 competition.

The two teams met just once during the regular season late in February, which saw Arizona State come away with a 64-59 victory in Tempe.

USC has played 27 Pac-12 Tournament games all-time, and owns just a 13-14 record in those postseason games. But the Trojans have taken one title in that span, which came back in the 2009 campaign that saw DeMar DeRozan earn the tournament's MVP award. A nine-game losing streak against conference competition during the regular season was the catalyst for USC's down season.

It certainly didn't help when the Trojans lost then-leading scorer Jordan McLaughlin to injury midway through February. The standout guard went down with a dislocated shoulder that has kept him out of competition since. Katin Reinhardt leads the team in scoring at 12.4 ppg entering the tournament, while Nikola Jovanovic chips in 12.3 ppg with a team-best 7.0 rpg. USC's defense that allows 70.4 ppg ranks second to last in the league in scoring defense. In USC's five-point loss to Arizona State late in February, Kahlil Dukes came off the bench to record 18 points, while Elijah Stewart netted 11 points with four blocked shots.

Arizona State has fared worse than USC in the Pac-12 Tournament historically. The Sun Devils have earned just a 6-16 record in 22 career conference tournament games, with no league titles to show for it. In fact, it was USC that defeated Arizona State in the 2009 title bout that was ASU's only appearance in a conference championship match.

Shaquielle McKissic leads a trio of Sun Devils players in double-digit scoring heading into the postseason, averaging 11.8 ppg on 44.2 percent shooting. He's followed by Gerry Blakes (11.2 ppg) and Savon Goodman (11.0 ppg) that contribute to ASU's 69.6 ppg mark this season. Goodman leads the team on the boards with 7.0 rpg, and Tra Holder's 3.6 apg is the best average in the category. In the Sun Devils' win over USC in February, Blakes netted 12 points with eight rebounds, while Bo Barnes chipped in 11 off the bench. McKissic and Holder each added 10 points, and Eric Jacobsen pulled down 10 rebounds in the contest.

USC's season should come to an end soon. Arizona State has been self- destructive at times, but with a shot to face UCLA in the next round - a team the Sun Devils beat during the regular season - ASU won't be holding back.