GAME NOTES: A couple of Pac-12 teams get an early wake-up call on Sunday, as the Colorado Buffaloes host the USC Trojans at the Coors Events Center.

The Buffaloes tipped off the conference portion of their schedule on Friday night with a 62-56 win over UCLA at home in Boulder. The victory snapped a two-game slide for a program that is slated to hit the road following the meeting with USC for three games against a pair of nationally-ranked foes in Utah and Arizona.

As for the Trojans, they have the same overall record as Colorado (8-5) after falling to 10th-ranked Utah two nights ago at the Huntsman Center, 79-55. The setback snapped a brief two-game win streak for a USC squad that is playing just the fourth true road game of the campaign.

Colorado leads the all-time series by a count of 7-3, thanks in part to a 59-56 win in the most recent meeting back on March 12, 2014. The Buffaloes have won five straight over USC. These teams will play each other in California in less than four weeks.

Against a Utah team that refuses to take it easy on opponents, the Trojans converted a total of just nine field goals in the first half on Friday, digging themselves a serious hole at the break. USC responded with 51.6 percent accuracy after intermission, but missed all but one of seven chances behind the 3-point line and didn't sink a single free throw in the period.

Malik Martin and Nikola Jovanovic were responsible for 14 points and six rebounds apiece, but the other three starters combined to make just 5-of-22 shots from the floor. Julian Jacobs pitched in with 10 points, four boards and four assists off the bench before fouling out.

Jovanovic is one of three players scoring in double figures these days for the Trojans with his 11.9 ppg. He is also first on the unit with 8.4 rpg, which might explain why he has so much trouble at the free-throw line (.587) and has but three assists, against 27 turnovers, entering the weekend. Jordan McLaughlin is responsible for 12.7 ppg, but while he has made just 38.0 percent of his field goal tries, he has certainly helped out teammates with 64 assists.

Colorado shot a disappointing 37.5 percent from the field against UCLA and turned the ball over 18 times, but the Buffaloes saved themselves with 5-of-10 shooting beyond the arc and 21-of-25 at the free-throw line. Wesley Gordon came close to a triple-double as he tallied 11 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots, while Askia Booker and Zavier Johnson were responsible for 20 and 14 points, respectively.

Booker has made it a habit of producing at the offensive end of the floor for the Buffs, posting 15.6 ppg thanks to 39.7 percent accuracy from beyond the arc, which is actually better than his 39.5 percent from the floor overall. Josh Scott contributes 14.8 ppg and a team-best 7.7 rpg, along with 24 blocked shots. Somewhat surprisingly, Scott has shown deft touch at the free-throw line as well where he has converted 81.5 percent of his opportunities and the team as a whole has outscored opponents by a 226-138 margin.

A player like Booker will do everything in his power to ensure that the Buffaloes will not be taken out by a conference foe on their own floor. He'll need some help to make that happen, but as long as Gordon is in the mix it shouldn't be that tough of a prospect.