I have to give USC a lot of credit. They came out with more intensity and dominated the first part of the half pretty decisively, going up by as much as 11. And when we pulled to within 3 they went on another run. Considering how hard (and skillfully) they were playing, I'm modestly encouraged to be down by "only" 5 at the half. But it will take the kind of lock-down defense the Bruins showed at times last night to win this thing.
Of course USC has nothing to lose and (maybe) everything to gain by winning tonight. It just might give them a chance to get to the NCAA Tournament, whereas the Bruins are already in, though hardly guaranteed a good seed.
Arizona State, which has beaten UCLA twice this year, was impressive in beating Washington, the champion after league play, in the first game. This is shaping up to be a terrific tournament.
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I'm not sure if it means anything, but any day that SC, beats, UCLA is a good day.
As much as I like UCLA, since I went there, I've never been able to develop a proper hatred for USC, perhaps in part because my dad got his MS there. And even though our Freshman football coach (back in the day when there was Freshman football) told us before the game that we would come to hate snotty Stanfordites who thought their shit didn't stink, I'm actually a bit fond of Stanford as well. So while I feel sad at the inconsistency of UCLA's basketball team this year, I congratulate the Trojans on developing proper intensity and skill at the right time of the year and winning the Pac-10 Tournament. I still hope UCLA goes farther in the Dance, however. Maybe the loss to USC will be a motivating factor.
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