USC Trojan's Men's basketball: Trojans host the Colorado Buffaloes, preview and game info

The USC Trojans (18-7, 7-5) will look to go 15-0 at the Galen Center against Pac-12 foe Colorado (19-7, 8-5) following consecutive losses to Arizona State and Arizona.

USC frittered away great opportunities over the weekend, are now unranked for the first time in three weeks and have tumbled down to fifth in the conference rankings. Winning the Pac-12 Championship does seem improbable with #12 Arizona and #16 Oregon atop of the conference, but a win over another conference opponent will jumpstart the Trojan's march into spring.

With a conference record of 8-5, Colorado is currently ranked third in the Pac-12 and will be looking to make a huge statement in the conference against USC in hopes of propelling them into the Pac-12 Championship. The Buffaloes carry a great deal of momentum coming off a sweep of the Pacific Northwest in its victories over Washington and Washington State late last week.

A key matchup to keep an eye on will take place in the low post with USC junior forward Nikola Jovanovic and Colorado junior forward Wesley Gordon.

Jovanovic has been rock solid for the Trojans all season long as he boasts averages of 12.6 ppg and 7.7 rpg and is coming off an explosive game against Arizona where he dropped 25 points and 15 rebounds.

Gordon has averaged 7.4 points and 7.4 rebounds a game and is currently riding a streak of three consecutive games with double-doubles. Both bigs show grit and determination in the paint, so we just be in store for an old school physical match up.

Making their first appearance in AP's top-25 since 2008, the last three weeks have been an unnerving roller coaster with the Men of Troy struggling to find stability.

Notwithstanding a string of bad games, the Trojans still seem in viable shape and should earn their first NCAA Tournament in five years.

The Trojans take on the Buffaloes at 8 p.m. on ESPNU and streaming on the Watch ESPN.