#6 USC vs. #11 Kansas State - Preview

Much has been made about the battle of freshmen between O.J. Mayo and Michael Beasley, or Mayo's life-long friendship with Bill Walker, but all that stuff won't matter once the ball is tipped-off. We don't have much time to get a full preview in, as RG3 said in the previous post, we're off the Vegas to get our gaming on. I have seen Kansas State play a few times both this year and last season, so I have some sense as to how they play the game. However, I don't know much about Kansas State's supporting cast. Nevertheless, if USC is to win tomorrow and advance to the 2nd round, they must accomplish these 3 goals. Do that, and we can expect to see Wisconsin on Saturday, one win away from consecutive Sweet 16's.

3 Keys to Victory:

Defensive Rebounding -- The #1 priority for the Trojans will be defensive rebounding. Kansas State led the Big 12 Conference in offensive rebounds per game with a staggering 16.32 average. Coach Tim Floyd's teams are always tough defensively, USC is 14 in the nation in field goal percentage defense and will force a lot of missed shots, which will create opportunities for Beasley and Walker to gain 2nd chances. Floyd and his staff understand that the Wildcats pick up a lot of garbage points on easy put backs and will have to look no further back than that Sweet 16 game against North Carolina last season where the Trojans got absolutely hammered on the offensive glass. Davon Jefferson and Daniel Hackett need to box out their guys and help Taj Gibson down low.

Taj Gibson -- Gibson needs to have a strong all-around game offensively, defensively, and rebounding, but his biggest contribution will have to come on the offensive end. The Wilcats will have to defend Gibson with Beasley since he is their biggest player inside. Taj is going to have to win this individual matchup and make Beasley work hard defensively. If he can get going early, Kansas State will be forced to double which will open things up for Mayo, or Beasley will be in foul trouble.

Turnovers -- The Wildcats do not want to play in the halfcourt against USC's tough defense, so they'll look to run and get easy fastbreak points whenever possible. Kansas State tends to stand around and just watch Beasley when forced to play slow, so look for them to pressure the Trojans and speed up the game. They are at their best when they are out in the open court getting others involved. Dwight Lewis must make strong, accurate passes and not give one away like he's done against tough defensive teams like ucla. Mayo and Hackett need to take good care of the ball and play under control.

USC has all the intangibles in this game. They have toughness, NCAA Tournament experience, and a brilliant coaching staff. They played against Kevin Durant's Texas team last year and proved that one player cannot win games in March. For these reasons, I like USC in this one. Prediction: USC 66, Kansas State 60.

Fight On! Beat the Wildcats!

USC can't hold on, ucla wins 57-54

USC came up just short on Friday against the hated bruins and will now wait for their NCAA Tournament opponent and destination on Sunday's CBS Selection Show. Many will remember O.J. Mayo, playing in what could be his first and only Pac-10 Tournament, miss the potential game-tying 3-point attempt at the end of regulation, but that is not why the Trojans lost this game. It was a tale of two halves, but USC's brilliant 1st half performance was matched by ucla in the 2nd half. I was there in Staples Center, among mostly bruins fans, and it a tough loss to swallow. I want to reflect on this one before we move forward to the "Big Dance," when it really matters.
This game was decided when the bruins went on a 17-2 run that turned an 8-point deficit into a 7 point lead. USC put itself in a position where they had to play catchup for the entire 2nd half. That is a shame because right before that 17-2 bruins run, USC was rolling. Davon Jefferson led all scorers with 12 points at the half, and Keith Wilkinson came off the bench to hit back to back 3 pointers that put USC ahead 30-22. USC had its foot on ucla's throat, leading 34-26 in the waning seconds of the first half. Ucla was down a starter after Luc Richard Mbah a Moute left the game with an ankle injury, and freshman sensation Kevin Love had been a non-factor to that point. The Trojans were the aggressors on both sides of the court and stifled the bruins with their "triangle and 2" defense, forcing the bruins to settle for shots from the perimeter.
Momentum, however, was about to shift to the enemies from Westwood. Just before halftime, ucla's Darren Collison raced down the court and put up a desparation shot at the buzzer that sank to the bottom of the net, cutting the Trojans' lead to 34-28, and ucla was to have possession to start the 2nd half. The bruins scored a lay-up on their first possession and then stole the inbounds pass for another lay up. The Trojans were stunned as their lead was cut to 34-32. That's when Kevin Love took over, scoring the bruins' next 11 points to cap off the 17-2 run to give the bruins an insurmountable 41-34 lead. Davon Jefferson was scoreless in the 2nd half and committed 4 turnovers in the game. Taj Gibson was frustrated by ucla's aggresive double teams and finished with a lowly 5 points and 4 turnovers.

The bruins just outplayed us in the 2nd half, mostly due to Kevin Love, who finished with a game high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Bruins coach Ben Howland adjusted well to the triangle and 2 defense and forced Tim Floyd to abandon it and play a traditional man to man defense down the stretch. The bruins then held on and survived a late flurry from Mayo who scored 5 straight points to cut the lead to 2 at 54-52. After an exchange of free throws, USC trailed by only 3 at 57-54, and the stage was set for a classic finish. Mayo would have become an instant legend if he could have buried that 3 pointer over Josh Shipp. I would have liked our chances in overtime, especially after weathering the storm and battling back to tie the game, but instead he'll have to wait for Mayo to pull of some March Madness magic in the NCAA Tournament.

Fight On!
[photos] courtesy of: LA Times

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!

Trojans fall at ASU 80-66

It had all the makings of a classic "trap game." USC didn't appear to want this game as bad as Arizona State did, and it showed in the final box score. ASU played like their backs were against the wall, got a few fortunate calls from the refs, and got seemingly every break in the contest. Most of the Trojans simply failed to show up yesterday. Dwight Lewis looked timid offensively and got dominated defensively by ASU's James Harden, who finished with 24 points on 7 for 8 shooting. Forwards Davon Jefferson, Taj Gibson, and Keith Wilkinson combined for a total of 13 points and each fouled out of the game. Guards Angelo Johnson and Daniel Hackett played hard, but they also had their fair share struggles offensively with only 9 combined points and 7 turnovers. There is one Trojan who stepped up his game though. Freshman guard O.J. Mayo carried the Trojans all game and finished with a career high 37 points, which included a sizzling 7-10 from 3-point land and 6-7 from the free throw line. Mayo has been on an absolute tear since that forgettable game he had against the bruins. He is now peaking at the right time and is prepping himself for a nice tournament run. Here's a nice quote from Sun Devils Coach Herb Sendek on Mayo's performance:

"He was incredible," Sendek said. "You have to understand, we're emphasizing him, and he's still getting 37."

Still, Mayo was disappointed in the loss, and showed his maturity again by calling this a team loss. Here's O.J. Mayo's post-game quote summarizing the Trojan defeat:

"We lost our poise," Mayo said. "We had some intentional fouls and some technical fouls and just kind of unraveled and lost our poise as a team."

Despite the loss, the Trojans earned themselves a nice split on the road trip to Arizona. USC missed an opportunity to take sole possession of 3rd place in the Pac-10 following Washington State's loss to Stanford. If we finish tied for third with the Cougars, they would win the tie-breaker by virtue of their season sweep over us this season. So all focus should go towards locking up 4th place and securing our NCAA Tournament bid. Paragon said it best over at Conquest Chronicles:

A win over either Cal or Stanford ensures 10 wins in the Pac-10 and a 4th place finish, which would pretty much ensure a birth in the tournament, as no 10-win Pac-10 team has ever missed the tournament.

I want to see a packed house this weekend at Galen Center, starting this Thursday against Cal. This is USC's final homestand, as well as the last two games of the regular season. March is here fellas, let the madness begin...

Fight On! Beat the Bears!

USC beats down Arizona

This picture (from ESPN) sums up the entire game for the Wildcats, whose top two scorers (freshman guard Jerryd Bayless and sophomore wing man Chase Budinger) were held to a combined 15 points, as the Trojans smothered them defensively all night. USC Coach Tim Floyd and his staff put together a great game-plan, keeping the Wildcats off balance by often playing that unconventional "Triangle and 2" defense, which achieved its purpose of taking Arizona's two big stars out of the game and forcing one of the other Wildcats to beat them. The win all but guarantees an NCAA Tournament bid for the Trojans, who improved their record to (18-9 overall, 9-6 Pac-10), and adds to their impresive list of Pac-10 road victories which already included fucla and Oregon. USC was able to frustrate Jerryd Bayless, who sat out with foul trouble early in the game, and held him to one of his worst games of his young career. O.J. Mayo turned in his 3rd straight outstanding performance since the fucla game, playing all 40 minutes and finishing with 21 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds. ESPN's Jay Bilas noted the maturation and development of Mayo as a player and his in-game decision making. Mayo read his screens well and was not hesitant to take the shot or drop it down to either Taj Gibson (14 points) or Davon Jefferson (15 points, 14 rebounds). Daniel Hackett returned from his back injury and played 24 quality minutes, including some clutch play down the stretch. This was a big win for the Trojans, and can now clinch a top 4 finish in the Pac-10 with a win on Saturday at Arizona State.

Tomorrow's game is apparently at noon (Pacific Time), so hopefully the early start won't throw off the team and will provide ample time for them to heal and rest up. ASU (17-10, 7-8) is two games back of the Trojans in Pac-10 play and is reeling after getting crushed by fucla for the 2nd time this season on Thursday 70-49. The Sun Devils are on that NCAA Bubble and need to win a few more games to solidify their spot. Let's get that desert sweep guys.

Fight On! Beat the Devils!

USC rallies to beat Oregon 81-75

USC donned their new home uniforms and got some inspired play from forward Keith Wilkinson and a bounce back performance from freshman phenom O.J. Mayo as they came from behind to defeat the Ducks 81-75 on Thursday night. USC trailed by as many as 15 points and went into the half with a 42-33 deficit, and things looked bad. But that's when Wilkinson and Mayo took over the game.

Wilkinson played 17 minutes in the 2nd half in place of a disappointing Davon Jefferson and was seemingly everywhere Thursday night. He failed to score, but he contributed 11 rebounds (including some big offensive boards) and had several nice hustle plays on defense. Here is the game recap from Rivals and here's an excerpt of Wilkinson's big night.

Thursday's biggest difference: Reserve forward Keith Wilkinson. After Floyd utilized his bench for only eight minutes in the loss to UCLA, Wilkinson played 23 minutes Thursday, including 17 in the second half. He grabbed 11 rebounds, including three dramatic ones on the offensive end.

Mayo, coming off his forgettable 4 point, 10 turnover game against the bRUINS, came up big with a game-high 32 points (21 of which came in the 2nd half). Floyd needs to keep trusting his bench, as he got quality minutes out of Wilkinson and walk-on guard Ryan Wetherell. I'm off to the Oregon State Game, and then heading home to watch a big game between top-ranked Memphis and 2nd-ranked Tennessee.

Fight On! Beat the Beavers!

Another 5-Star Approaching

The moment we've all been waiting for is less than a week away. Another 5-star recruit is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. This recruit however will be reporting to the Galen Center, not Howard Jones Field. OJ Mayo, The National High School Basketball Player of the Year, has graduated from high school and will arrive in Los Angeles on Wednesday according to the Los Angeles Daily News.

OJ Mayo is going to pack the house next year and it's only a matter of time before the Athletic Department reinstates the lottery for basketball games. I read somewhere that they took away the upper level of the student section. Does anyone know if they reallocated those seats by increasing the student section on the lower level or did they just reduce the total number?

Upadate (06.09.07 12:12am): Not that it makes a difference, but I heard from a someone within the athletic department that Mayo will arrive on Monday, not wednesday.

O.J. Mayo drops 27 points in Roundball Classic

O.J. led the way for the East squad Tuesday night as they fell 144-123 to the West in the Roundball Classic All-Star Game. Mayo, who was named MVP for the East team, bounced back nicely from a highly criticized performance in last week's McDonald's All-American game. He shot 11-18 from the field including 5-10 from behind the arc in the game, which was held at Chicago's United Center. According to draftexpress.com O.J. dominated in both workouts just like he did at the McDonald's practices. Mayo has now competed in the NCAA's allotted two all-star games a player can take part in before he enrolls for his freshman season. That means the next time we'll see this guy play will be in a Trojans uniform. Can't wait for next season. Fight On!!