USC Jumps Over Cal 73-62

(photo: Yahoo! Sports)

What a game! A healthier, re-energized USC team won its 3rd straight game. The Trojans clamped down defensively on one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country, holding the Cal Golden Bears to just 2-16 (12.5%) from beyond the arc. With the win, the Trojans improved their record to (15-6) overall and (6-3) in the Pac-10 moved into sole possession of third place. The Trojans are just one game behind conference leaders Washington and fucla, but have a chance to even the score by beating the bRuins at pauley pavilion this Wednesday.

More after the jump!

Freshman Demar Derozan led the way for the Trojans with 19 points, but he deserves praise for his outstanding defensive play. Marcus Johnson, who finished with 6 points, set the tone early with yet another thunderous dunk. The senior transfer from UConn took a fastbreak pass from Daniel Hackett and then skied over Cal defender Jorge Gutierrez, who would hear it from the student section the rest of the night, and electrified the crowd with the amazing dunk. Despite Derozan's team-high 19 points, the Trojans featured a balanced scoring attack offensively. Hackett had another solid game at the point with 14 points, big man Taj Gibson posted his 11th double-double this season with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and junior guard Dwight Lewis added 12 points. You can watch the highlights from Fox Sports here.

The Trojans appear to be hitting their stride as we turn the basketball calendar to February. The team is getting healthy, and as a result, their play has been steadily improving. This month is crucial for the Trojans' post-season aspirations. Five of the next seven games are on the road, beginning with fucla this Wednesday. The Trojans know they can play with the bRuins after winning at pauley last season and losing a close one 64-60 at Galen Center on January 11. We'll have a preview of the game by Tuesday night.

Fight On! Beat the Bruins!

Trojans sweep Cal and Stanford

The USC Trojans defeated 7th ranked Stanford 77-64 earlier this afternoon and will enter the Pac-10 Tournament on fire after sweeping the bay area schools this weekend. The men closed out the regular season in style with a record of (20-10) overall and (11-7) in the Pac-10, finishing tied for 3rd in the conference with Washington State. USC played out of its mind on Saturday, and reaped the rewards of the incredible effort that they put into this game on both ends of the floor. O.J. Mayo led the Trojans in scoring yet again with 25 points, but it was a total team effort tonight. The Trojans out-rebounded the Cardinal 47-31, despite the presence of Stanford's 7-foot Lopez twins, thanks to the play of forwards Taj Gibson (20 pts, 11 rebs) and Keith Wilkinson (4 pts, 8 rebs) and some help from the guards (Mayo had 8 rebs). USC's defense was able to contain the twins for most of the game by using a lot of full-court pressure, speeding up the tempo of the game and taking them out of their comfort level. Offensively, Mayo continued his hot play and put on a show in front of a CBS national tv audience. Those who tuned in were not disappointed, as seen by plays like this...

[video courtesy of USChoops.com Message Board]

Lost in Mayo's current hot streak is the re-emergence of Taj Gibson, who got off to a slower than expected start this season. He's been our steadiest player since the Trojans got off to that dismal (0-3) start in Pac-10 play. USC is (11-4) since then, which is incredible when you consider the absence of starting point guard Daniel Hackett, but that would not have been possible without Gibson. He had that key blocked shot in the closing minutes of USC's win at ucla, and carried the team on his back when we hosted the bruins at the Galen Center. Gibson has been scoring at will, staying out of foul trouble, controlling the boards, blocking shots, and playing with emotion out there. USC seems to be peaking at just the right time. Coach Tim Floyd has found two very reliable players off the bench in Wilkinson and point guard Angelo Johnson, who has started some games and played some valuable minutes for Hackett both at the beginning of the season and during his recent back injury. With the regular season in the books, Coach Floyd can now start gearing his squad for the "Big Dance." Let's take a quick peak at next week's Pac-10 Tournament, hosted by the Staples Center, which gets underway Wednesday evening.

The Trojans have earned the #4 seed in the Pac-10 Tourney, having lost the tie-breaker since they were swept by Washington State, and will play 5th-seeded Arizona State in a quarterfinal match-up on Thursday at approximately 6pm (PST). USC is a lock for the NCAA Tournament, but it can go a long way towards improving its seeding with an impressive showing at Staples. USC's two most recent losses came against the teams that they will likely face in the next two games. The prospects of facing Arizona State (quarterfinal opponent) and ucla (potential semifinal opponent) on consecutive nights makes for a very intriguing tournament. I expect every die hard Trojan, living in the L.A. area to come out and support our team. We made it to the final last year, let's go out and finish it this time. Below is the bracket (click on image to enlarge), courtesy of USChoops.com:Great season guys, but there's still work to do.

Fight On! Beat the Devils!

Weekend Recap

USC 24 - Cal 17
The USC Trojans fought the rain, the Cal Bears and the rest of the hippies up north en route to a victory this past weekend. Chauncey "The First President" Washington wrecked the Cal defense and finished with a career best 220 yards rushing and 1 TD. The rain made for a sloppy game, but the Trojans were able to hang on to the lead and gave another reason for Jeff Tedford to put a gun to his temple after one of the most disappointing seasons of his career. Me-sean Jackson remained a douche and finished with 61 yards receiving and was a non-factor. The victory gives the Trojans the possibility of going to the Rose Bowl if they can beat ASU on Thanksgiving Day in a few weeks. There's also the bi-annual rape of the Bruins at the Coliseum to look forward to on December 1st.

Illinois 28 Ohio St. 21
The Buckeyes were "Juiced" on Saturday at the Horseshoe by the Fighting Illini. Juice Williams is a favorite here at USC Sports Talk and he gutted Ohio St. with 4 TDs in an impressive performance to take down the No. 1 team in the land. It was nice to see Ron Zook emotional after the victory during the post-game interview. That guy is a class act, a great coach and a decent human being. Kudos to Zook and the rest of the Fighting Illini.

There were a lot of other games this weekend, but no one gives a shit about any of them. Michigan is still a joke, Miami got shutout in their last game at the Orange Bowl and Mark Mangino is still a fat piece of shit.

In other news, OJ Mayo had his regular season debut for the Trojans at home against the mighty Mercer Bears... and we lost. Mayo finished with 32 points but the team looked out of sync and lost at times. I really hope Floyd can set the team right once everyone gets healthy, but we shall see.

I know we've been lagging lately with posts and updates, but we're all students and midterms are shitty. We'll get back into rhythm soon. Until then, "Jagger Bombs!"

Feast On That

Week 7 brought us another crazy weekend in college football. USC played pretty fucking shitty again, but at least this time we won against Arizona. More on that later, but what really brought joy to me this weekend was seeing this:

It felt so relieving to see Les Miles frustrated on the sidelines and somber in his press conference. That guy is a fucking douche if there ever was one. I bet his own family hates his guts, assuming there was a woman brave enough to put up with that piece of shit in the first place. LSU lost to a very good Kentucky team on the road. I know what it feels like to lose those triple overtime games at the wire (see Cal 2003). It's a real shitty feeling, and I know LSU fans are hurting. Shit happens though and Les Miles is a cunt, so fuck him.

Then to top things off, as I'm enjoying a nice meal of chicken wings and beer at Hooters, Cal loses to Oregon St. on a bonehead play by their redshirt freshman QB. Cal drives down the field in an attempt to tie the game with a field goal, only this cat decides to be a hero and scramble for a first down and runs out the clock in the process. What a fucking idiot. It was such a good ending to a day that saw LSU fall.

The first BCS poll comes out today and I'm sure USC will be pretty far down the rankings, but with the way this season is going, anything can happen. Big game today in Dallas with the hated Patriots and Bill Belicheat visiting the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. Hopefully Romo can pull this one out. It's also Notre Dame week, so expect a lot of hate and venom aimed this week at Charlie "Mom Jeans" Weis and the Irish. Feast on that.