USC, entering rivalry matchup with UCLA, can’t afford another slip-up
Crosstown rivals riding opposite trajectories clash on Tuesday in Los Angeles when UCLA hosts Southern California.
The Bruins (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) come into this season's first matchup with the Trojans off of their biggest win of the campaign. Donovan Dent's last-second overtime layup capped his 14-point, 15-assist effort in UCLA's 95-94 defeat of then-No. 10 Illinois on Saturday.
The come-from-behind win, which saw the Bruins battle back from a seven-point halftime deficit, marked a much-needed rebound from a tumultuous road trip to Michigan and Michigan State.
UCLA lost consecutive blowouts to the Wolverines and Spartans, with Bruins coach Mick Cronin's ejection of forward Steven Jamerson II following a hard foul in the latter contest prompting an apology in the subsequent days.
"Outside noise and all that ... whatever. It's all about what's going on in the locker room," Dent said following the Saturday win. "In the locker room right now, we're at the highest point together as a team."
While the Bruins look to close out the regular season on a high, USC makes the short trek to Pauley Pavilion aiming to climb from perhaps its lowest point of the campaign.
The Trojans (18-9, 7-9) dropped their third straight decision Saturday, giving up seven points in the final 59 seconds of a 71-70 loss to Oregon. The Ducks arrived to Galen Center with just nine wins on the season and only one road victory.
USC took its second home defeat to a sub-.500 opponent in the past month along with a 74-68 outcome against Northwestern on Jan. 21.
"(The team) knew what was at stake: We win (against Oregon), we're in a really good spot," Trojans coach Eric Musselman said of USC's NCAA Tournament prospects. "You lose this game, you're in a really difficult, tough spot. Somehow, we've got to try to regroup."
The Trojans' final four regular-season games are bookended with the traditional home-and-home series against UCLA. USC also hosts a Nebraska team that has spent much of the season ranked in the top 10 nationally, and the Trojans also will visit Washington.
Finding more consistency through nagging injuries should prove critical to the Trojans' final postseason push. Freshman Alijah Arenas, who missed the first two-plus months with a knee injury, erupted for three straight games of 24-plus points before struggling on offense in the past two.
USC's season-long leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, missed three games due to a knee injury, then was plagued with foul trouble against Oregon, though he scored 21 points.