Bruins set to beat up Trojans at Pauley

  CHRIS BACKLEY Jason Kapono, here
watching a layup go in an 80-70 loss to North Carolina last
December, looks forward to tonight’s game against USC.

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

One could bet that with crosstown rival Southern California
entering Westwood tonight, the Trojans won’t be wiping their
feet at the door. Yet UCLA head coach Steve Lavin and the Bruins
feel quite at home in Pauley Pavilion against USC.

The Bruins have never lost at home to USC under Lavin’s
watch. In fact, the Blue and Gold have won the last seven meetings
between these two teams in Pauley and hold a 31-6 home advantage
dating back to the 1965-66 season.

Needless to say, UCLA will show no warm hospitality to the Men
of Troy when the No. 19 Trojans and the unranked Bruins engage
themselves in a 40-minute war for city-wide bragging rights tonight
at 7:30.

“USC is USC,” said UCLA senior guard Jason Flowers.
“Regardless of records or where each of us is at coming into
a game like this, it’s going to be a battle.”

The two teams enter Thursday’s conference matchup having
taken similar roads.

MEN’S BASKETBALL Tonight 7:30 p.m. Pauley
Pavilion Fox Sports Net 2 XTRA 1150AM vs. Original graphic by ADAM
BROWN/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by CHRISTINE TAN/Daily Bruin The
Bruins and Trojans are both riding three-game winning streaks after
sweeping their Pac-10 home openers against the Washington schools.
And while the circumstances under which the annual meetings of
these two schools are strikingly different from usual ““ for
the first time in 39 years, only USC is ranked in the Top 25
between the two schools ““ the animosity is just as
strong.

“There’s definitely a lot of hatred between UCLA and
USC,” said Bruin junior guard Ray Young. “It’s
just not a combination of two schools that you would want to put
together. UCLA represents a legacy and the pride (that comes with
that).”

“They represent over there whatever they represent over
there,” he continued.

Amidst the constant rumors that his job as Bruin head coach is
not secure, Lavin has his eyes focused on a game that will decide
early on who will keep pace atop the conference standings with the
runaway train that is No. 1 Stanford. Preparing a game plan against
a team that returns all five starters and has added depth, Lavin
sees every player-matchup as equally crucial, but focuses on one
player who may pose problems for UCLA.

“They have tremendously skilled players at every position
and they are quite interchangeable,” he said. “But
(David) Bluthenthal is an inside-outside threat we have to watch
for. He shoots the ball behind the three-point line with a great
deal of confidence, but can go inside and be a force on the boards
and in the paint.”

UCLA-USC GAMES @ PAULEY PAVILION In the last
decade the Bruins compiled a 15-7 record against USC. The
Last Decade Year Pauley
Pavilion Sports Arena 2000 83-78, UCLA
97-79, USC 1999 68-63, UCLA 98-80, UCLA 1998 101-84, UCLA 82-75
(OT), UCLA 1997 82-60, UCLA 96-87, UCLA 1996 99-72, UCLA 61-59,
UCLA 1995 85-66, UCLA 73-69, UCLA 1994 101-72, UCLA 85-79, USC 1993
72-62, USC 90-80, UCLA 1992 86-82, USC 83-79, USC 1991 98-81, UCLA
76-74, USC 1990 89-72, UCLA 75-76, USC SOURCE: UCLA media guide
Original graphic by VICTOR CHEN Web adaptation by CHRISTINE
TAN/Daily Bruin

With All-Pac-10 performers Brian Scalabrine and Sam Clancy as
tough low post threats, UCLA’s frontline, Dan Gadzuric, Matt
Barnes and Jason Kapono, and TJ Cummings off the bench, will be
tested and called upon to put together a huge night defensively in
the paint and on the glass.

“Their front line will be a great challenge for us,”
Lavin said. “We have to be effective on the
boards.”

UCLA definitely brought the Windex to clean the glass in the
first week of conference play. The Bruins grabbed a season-high 50
boards against Washington last week. They’ll also combat
USC’s frontline in the half-court set with a full-court press
that posed major problems for Bruin opponents this past weekend,
forcing 39 turnovers combined from Washington and Washington
State.

However, Lavin’s squad committed 60 turnovers and shot 39
percent from three-point range and 53 percent from the foul line
during their winning streak. But UCLA never shot below 53 percent
overall in each of the games in the winning streak ““ a
testament to how today’s lethal Bruin blitz can create easy
fast break opportunities.

“When we have pressed and everyone is intact (in
position), we are looking to create tempo and action,” Young
said. “If we continue to play and press hard and get
defensive stops, it’s tough to break.”

One man in the conference who may singlehandedly break through
the press is USC junior point guard Brandon Granville. But the one
player who can go stride for stride with arguably the most
underrated floor general in the country is UCLA senior guard Earl
Watson. He has proven time and time again that he can play with or
above the level of any point guard in the college ranks.

Both are side by side in every important point guard category.
Watson is first in the Pac-10 in assists at 6.1 per game; Granville
is second at 5.8. Meanwhile, Granville is first in steals at 2.2;
Watson is right behind at 2.1. And their assist to turnover ratios
are practically identical (Granville 1.93; Watson 1.91).

“At this point, we probably have not played as skilled of
a point guard as Granville,” Lavin said. “He is as
experienced as we have faced … all year.”

“He sees the floor well, is poised, finds teammates well
and establishes tempo. He is definitely an extension of head coach
Henry Bibby and his coaching staff on the floor,” Lavin
added.

But in the end, when all the numbers and players have been
analyzed and compared, tonight’s showdown with all of Los
Angeles watching is narrowed to one finite point for the
Bruins.

“Nobody (else) should really win (at Pauley),” Young
said. “But you definitely don’t want (USC) to win
here.”

TOP FIVE MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN UCLA-USC MEN’S BASKETBALL
SERIES HISTORY 5. February 6,
1971 UCLA 64 USC 60 No. 1 Trojans versus No. 2 Bruins. USC
had a nine-point lead with nine minutes remaining before letting
down. They scored only one more point for the rest of the game, as
UCLA’s Sidney Wicks had 24 points and 14 rebounds to restore the
Bruins to the No. 1 ranking the following week. 4.
January 23, 1932 UCLA 19, USC 17 USC guard Julie
Bescos held the ball for 15 minutes (before the invention of the
shot clock). No dribbles, no motion, nothing. Players talked. Fans
conversed and threw objects onto the court while the Trojans
"protected" a 5-2 lead into halftime. USC changed its strategy in
the second half and fell apart late in the ballgames and 14
rebounds to restore the Bruins to the No. 1 ranking the following
week. 3. February 28, 1985 USC 80, UCLA 78
(4 OT) The longest game ever played in either school’s
history, UCLA’s Dave Immel, who a few seasons later would lead the
Bruins in free throw percentage, missed two crucial freebies late
in the ballgame. USC reserve center Charlie Simpson converted an
uncontested layup with two seconds left to overshadow a 38-point
performance by Reggie Miller. 2. March 5,
1960 UCLA 72, USC 70 With 21 seconds remaining and the
Bruins holding a 68-66 advantage in the regular season finale at
the Sports Arena, USC’s Steve Kemp and UCLA’s Bill Hicks engaged in
a battle for a loose ball. Kemp managed to forcefully gain control,
dropping Hicks to the hardwood. Hicks quickly got to his feet and
in Kemp’s face. When Trojan teammate John Rudometkin came to Kemp’s
aid, both benches cleared and a brawl ensued that had fans, coaches
and players together in a heated melee. 1.
December 3, 1966 UCLA 105, USC 90 Lew Alcindor
(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) scored 56 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in
his first-ever varsity game. The 19-year-old sophomore was 23 of 32
from the field and 10 of 14 from the charity stripe. He bettered
the previous school record by 14 points. SOURCE: UCLA media guide
Original graphic by VICTOR CHEN Web adaptation by CHRISTINE
TAN/Daily Bruin