The football team gets the most publicity regarding its futility
against USC, but let us not hasten to forget that the basketball
team hasn’t done much better.
In my years here at UCLA, I’ve seen exactly one victory
over the Trojans on the hardwood, when Billy Knight hit a 3-pointer
at the buzzer two years ago to salvage an otherwise poorly played
game.
Since then, ‘SC has beaten the Bruins four straight times
and made a run to the Elite Eight.
Everyone knows USC is supposed to win at football, but
basketball was ours.
Emphasis on the “was.”
Guess what?
“We own this city now,” Trojan senior Desmon Farmer
said in a post game interview.
Some fact-checking tells me the last time ‘SC won four
straight games was way back in 1943.
Woof. Add some more dung to the heap, because UCLA got down on
its knees and blew another one.
The Bruins were manhandled throughout the first half and part of
the second. They were getting hammered on the boards and looked
stagnant on the offensive end. A sparkling performance by Trevor
Ariza, who seemed to wake up from his slump, was spoiled by the
woeful play of Dijon Thompson, who scored his first points of the
game with 10 minutes to go in the second half.
The Bruins played what has unfortunately become typical UCLA
basketball: losing basketball.
Once again a big low-post player (USC’s Jeff McMillan)
completely ruined UCLA, with 19 points and 18 rebounds.
Once again the Bruins suffered through a long, brutal run in the
first half, 22-6, in favor of USC.
It got so bad seldom-used (to put it mildly) reserve John
Hoffart was subbed in and made a free throw to stop the run.
Folks, John Hoffart was playing significant minutes, and I mean
that in the kindest possible way to John.
The Bruins rallied. Sure, they can rally. If you’re out
there on the court, you might as well try, right? They went from a
15-point deficit to eventually tie the game, even forcing
overtime.
But whenever it was truly crunch time, whenever things were
really on the line, UCLA couldn’t get it done.
Down six with a few minutes left in the first half, Ryan Walcott
jacked up a horrible 3-pointer, even though T.J. Cummings was open
under the basket. USC went down the floor and scored. Instead of a
four-point game, it was eight.
With five seconds left in the second half and the score tied,
Ariza literally threw a pass into the stands. The Bruins
couldn’t even get a shot off.
In overtime, UCLA played well for the first four and a half
minutes. But then Farmer hit two huge 3-pointers, the Bruins went
stale, and out of sheer force of will, the Trojans overcame their
own poor performance to take the lead with seconds to play in
overtime.
With five-tenths of a second left on the clock, Thompson went to
the line with a chance to tie the game …
If that free-throw debacle doesn’t sum up the entire Bruin
basketball season, I don’t know what could. UCLA
couldn’t make it when it needed to, couldn’t miss it
when it had to.
Unbelievable. This team continues to find new ways to lose
games.
I noticed there was a small purple mark on the top of Ben
Howland’s head. Maybe it’s just a bruise.
More likely it’s a festering, stress-induced lesion. Nice
game, Bruins.
Yuhl hates USC. So much. E-mail him at
cyuhl@media.ucla.edu.