Nikola Vucevic stole the show on USC's Senior Day. (Shotgun Spratling)

"One more year. One more year."

USC's student section in the Galen Center was requesting the junior to spurn the NBA and return for his senior season.

"It's nice to hear that," Vucevic said. "It shows that your work pays off and people recognize what you do."

On a day when USC (17-12, 9-7) honored its four seniors before the game, it was the junior from Bar, Montenegro that stole the show. 

Using an arsenal that included a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range, Vucevic was solid from start to finish.

He scored 20 points, shooting 7-for-11 from the field. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to add to his conference leading double-double tally.

USC's defense smothered the Sun Devils (10-18, 2-14), especially in the first half allowing the Trojans to open up a 20-point halftime lead that ballooned to as much as 26 in the second half.

-- BREAKING IT DOWN --

Key moment: Arizona State opened the game with the first five points. But USC immediately fired back with an 11-2 run that saw the Sun Devils get one field goal in six minutes.

The Trojans continued to build on their lead. The 11-2 run was just the beginning of USC's first half dominance. USC outscored the Sun Devils 38-13 in the first half following the initial five-point burst by ASU.

Nikola Vucevic notched his 18th double-double of the season. (Shotgun Spratling)

With 20 points and 10 boards, Vucevic now has 18 double-doubles -- tied for fifth best in the country.

"When I let the game come to me and get a couple of easy shots in the paint, it boosts my confidence up and I get better looks outside," he said.

He made those open looks outside count, knocking down all three of his 3-pointers. Vucevic is now shooting 38 percent from beyond the arc this season, best on the team of players with at least 20 attempts.

Most Spectacular Play: Simmons No-Look.

Vucevic has been getting double-teamed all season. Usually that results in a ball reversal and an open 3-pointer on the weak side.

Sunday afternoon, it ended in the most spectacular play of the game.

Vucevic caught the ball in his favorite spot -- on the left baseline. When Arizona State's double-team came, instead of pitching it back outside, Vucevic saw Marcus Simmons slashing into the lane from the opposite wing.

Simmons caught the ball running toward the hoop, but immediately dished the ball to Alex Stepheson with a left-handed, no-look pass. Big Al knew exactly what to do with it, throwing it down with a monster two-handed dunk.

Unsung Hero: Marcus Simmons.

How good is Simmons defensively? 

"If Marcus Simmons isn't the Defensive Player of the Year in the conference, I don't know who is," coach Kevin O'Neill said.

Watching Simmons play defense is like watching a guard dog blocking an entrance. He mirrors every move of the offensive player before lashing out when they get too close to the basket.

Sunday's potential intruder was Ty Abbott. Arizona State's second-leading scorer was averaging 12.6 points per game and had given USC trouble in the first matchup this season scoring 19 points. But with Simmons hounding him, Abbott went 0-for-7 from the field, settling for five 3-pointers and finishing with only one point.

He also has been more aggressive on the offensive end recently. Though he isn't going to put up 20 points, or rarely even 10, his slashing has made him enough of a threat on the offensive end that teams have to at least pay attention to him.

And when they don't, Simmons can drive and create like he did Sunday against Arizona State. He missed his only field goal attempt, but had a career-high five assists and went to the line for four free throws.

"Step It Up:" Kevin O'Neill.

As a coach how do you play a senior one minute in his last game in front of the home crowd?

The answer is you don't.

In his last game in front of his family, friends and the Trojan nation, James Dunleavy, son of former Clippers head coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy, played ONE MINUTE. It's a shame. As NFL analyst Cris Carter would say, "Come on man."

Being up by 26 with 12:37 seconds left to go in the second half wasn't enough to get Dunleavy in for a couple extra minutes? USC was dominating an obviously inferior opponent on this night, why not put the kid in?

Step it up Coach.

Key stat:  6. That's the number of assists Arizona and Arizona State had combined this weekend! On Sunday, the Sun Devils finished with only four assists to eight turnovers after Arizona had two assists to 11 turnovers Thursday.

Key stat x2 (Bonus):  60. It's the magic number for the USC defense. When the Trojans hold a team below 60 points, they are now 12-0 this season. USC was able to hold down ASU's scoring by suffocating the Sun Devils' offense, holding Arizona State to only 30.6 percent shooting.

"I thought our effort defensively was superb," O'Neill said. "We got our job done."

Alex Stepheson dunks while an Arizona State defender looks on. (Shotgun Spratling)

With Arizona State not starting anyone close in size to the pair of 6-foot-10 monsters USC possesses, the obvious strategy for O’Neill was to exploit the glaring weakness of ASU's interior defense.

He did just that, early and often. Even when USC was facing a gimmick 3-2 zone defense or a loose 2-3, the strategy stayed the same; get the ball into the paint to Alex Stepheson and Nikola Vucevic.

The Trojans may have only scored six more points in the paint than ASU, but by throwing it in the post, they drew double teams. The double teams created open perimeter shots where USC knocked down five first half 3-pointers.

Where They Stand: If the Trojans would have played like they did this weekend against Oregon and Oregon State, they would be worrying about seeding rather than if they are going to be able to get into the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, coupled with early season losses to Bradley, TCU and Rider, USC's chances for an at-large bid are still slim. However, the Trojans are doing everything they can to force the selection committee to give them a look.

USC has won four consecutive and five of its last six games. 

Next weekend's trip to Washington and Washington State just got a lot more interesting. A sweep of the Washington schools and a win or two in the Pac-10 Tournament would make it very difficult to leave the Trojans sitting at home during March Madness.

"They are certainly good enough to be an NCAA team," Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said about the Trojans. "They aren't getting enough credit as a team."

O'Neill will continue to lobby that the bad losses USC suffered early in the season were before Jio Fontan was eligible to play and while Alex Stepheson was playing with a broken hand.

But it will come down to the final two weekends for USC -- in Washington and down the street at the Staples Center during the Pac-10 Tournament.

"We're fighting for our lives," O'Neill said.

To reach Shotgun Spratling, click here, or follow him on Twitter @BlueWorkhorse.

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