Trojans battle UCLA at home seeking season sweep


After downing the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion for the first time in three years, the Trojans now have a chance to maintain home and crosstown-cup perfection at the Galen Center for the second act of the USC and UCLA showdown.

The 17-5 Trojans, coming off two straight 10-point wins against Washington State and Washington at home, are on the upswing after losing two games against Oregon and Oregon State on their most recent road trip.

On the other hand, the 13-9 Bruins have been struggling recently, losing three of their last five games to USC, Oregon and Washington while allowing an average of 76.8 points per game.

In the first game of the crosstown rivalry, the Men of Troy easily handled the Bruins 89-75, despite a deafening crowd of 12,993 at Pauley Pavilion.

“Bryce Alford is really good,” redshirt junior Katin Reinhardt said. “Last game he didn’t get anything going. We’ve got to make sure we contain him again as well as Tony Parker.”

During the contest, the Trojans executed precise outside shooting from their guards, equal distribution inside and out and big plays inside the paint from their forwards.

Sophomores Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart were dynamite for USC, converting seven of their 10 three-point attempts, with McLaughlin going for a team-high 23 points on 50 percent shooting.

As for the Trojan bigs, freshman Chimezie Metu and junior Nikola Jovanovic helped USC to out-rebound UCLA, combining for 14 of 42 rebounds, while scoring 21 and eight points, respectively. Not to mention, Metu and Jovanovic completed nine of their 12 free-throw attempts, helping USC shoot 78.3 percent overall from the line.

In terms of what the Trojans’ defense was able to do against the Bruins, UCLA completed just four of its 19 three-point attempts with their bench accumulating just two points off of four free throws while missing all of their eight shots from the field.

As well, the Trojans earned four steals and caused the Bruins to turn the ball over nine times.

Moving on from their 14-point win, though, the Trojans have been playing better quality basketball after their two losses in Oregon due to a combination of their interior offense and exterior defense.

A resurgent Jovanovic has stepped up his play in recent games, shooting a combined 16-23 in his past two games with 12 rebounds, 40 points, two assists and a 88.9 percent free-throw percentage after scoring just 13 points combined in the Trojans’ losses to Oregon and Oregon State.

If the Men of Troy hope to keep their 13-0 record at home untarnished, the 6-feet-11 Jovanovic will have to play consistently on the offensive glass, grabbing offensive rebounds, while contributing hook shots and layups on the scorecard.

Not to mention, the Trojans have been dominating in terms of pushing teams inside due to their stringy outside defense. Considering the correlation between opposing 3-point percentage and overall outcome for the Trojans, USC will need to lock down the perimeter and force UCLA shooters inside the arch.

In the Trojans’ two wins against Washington State and Washington, the Cougars and Huskies each shot 22.2 and 25 percent from 3-point range, respectively. In USC’s win at Pauley Pavilion, the Trojans held the Bruins to just 21.1 percent from beyond the arch, leading to a 14-point drubbing.

“Our goal all year has been to challenge the 3-point shooter and try to run them off the line,” head coach Andy Enfield said. “We’ve been doing a pretty good job at holding teams to moderate or low percentage from the 3 line all season, but you never know. UCLA has great shooters from the perimeter.”

Despite a shaky 2-2 record in their last four games, the Bruins are shooting 36.3 percent from beyond the arch, much improved from their loss to USC.

Overall, though, reducing Alford, Isaac Hamilton, Parker and Aaron Holiday is imperative to a Trojan victory, ultimately crowd support could determine the result of Thursday’s contest.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Galen Center.