LOS ANGELES -- USC is making a case to be ranked when the new polls come out Monday.
All it took was a four-overtime thriller against Arizona.
Guard Elijah Stewart scored 27 points, including the winning free throws with 22.3 seconds left in quadruple overtime on Saturday as USC improved to 11-0 at home for the first time since the 1973-1974 season with a 103-101 victory.
"That was just one great college basketball game," said USC coach Andy Enfield, whose team improved to 14-3 overall, 3-1 Pac-12.
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"I was impressed by our competitiveness and resiliency. It's obviously a big win. With this league, every game matters."
Stewart got bailed out on USC's final possession, fouled by Arizona freshman guard Justin Simon on an off-balance 15-footer jumper at the end of the shot clock. He made both foul shots.
"He hit some huge buckets down the stretch," Enfield said, "but he also played tremendous defense."
On Arizona's ensuing possession, the Trojans poked the ball from guard Gabe York into the Wildcats backcourt. By the time he retrieved the ball and recovered, all Arizona could manage was an awkward 25-footer by guard Kadeem Allen, who drew only the side of the rim.
USC looks to be ranked for the first time since Nov. 17, 2008.
The Trojans put on offensive show in the first half but went cold late, coughing up a 12-point lead with 5:33 to go in regulation. They came up empty with chances to win at the end of regulation and each of the first three overtimes.
"We fought, we scratched, we clawed," Arizona coach Sean Miller said of the first four-overtime in school history.
"We left some points on the board in the overtimes by missing the second free throw or missing both free throws. I thought USC did a better job from the line. In many ways, that was the difference between a win and loss."
USC made 26 of 33 free throws. Arizona was 11 of 16.
USC's guards led the way. Stewart hit 5 of 8 3-point shots. Julian Jacobs had 18 points, nine assists and seven steals, and Jordan McLaughlin added 17 points.
Guard Allonzo Trier scored a team-high 25 points for Arizona (13-3, 1-2). York had 21. Center Kaleb Tarczewski had 16 points and 12 rebounds. His tip-ins on consecutive possessions late in regulation tied the game at 71 with 1:24 to go.
USC post Nikola Jovanovic put the Trojans up with a spinning jumper in the lane, but Arizona tied it when Allen got the bounce on a driving 10-footer. Jacobs missed two jumpers in the final seconds, including one that fell off the front of the rim at the regulation buzzer.
Tarczewski got another tip-in with 4.7 seconds left in overtime to tie the game at 79. He then raced down and took a charge on Jacobs in the lane with 1.5 seconds left to send the game into double overtime.
York hit two free throws with 19.6 seconds left in double overtime to tie the game at 86, and Jacobs had a baseline pass stolen on USC's ensuing possession. York missed a desperation 3 from halfcourt at the buzzer.
McLaughlin was off the mark to end the third overtime.
Arizona was swept on its road trip to UCLA and USC. The Wildcats lost back-to-back games for the first time since March 2, 2013, which also came on the road trip to Los Angeles.
"I would just say this: The trip to L.A. is going to be a difficult trip for anybody in our conference," Miller said. "You have two outstanding teams and two outstanding home courts."
USC, which this season is showing the flash that made Enfield a rising star during the 2013 NCAA Tournament at Florida Gulf Coast University, shot 64.3 percent from the field in the first half, including 5 of 10 from behind the arc.
The Wildcats were up 24-16 at one point but ended up trailing 45-37 at halftime as the Trojans hardly missed.
NOTES: Arizona C Kaleb Tarczewski, in his third game back from a foot injury that kept him out for eight games, returned to the starting lineup. He had been coming off the bench behind Dusan Ristic. Tarczewski made his 113th career start, ninth most in school history. ... Arizona G Elliott Pitts missed his eighth consecutive games for what has been described as "personal reasons." ... USC entered the game with 105 blocked shots, the most in the nation. The Trojans nearly reached their game average with six blocks in the first half. ... USC's 14-3 start is its best since the 2001-02 team posted the same record.
