Trojans cross town for key Bruins matchup 


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Junior guard Boogie Ellis dribbles the ball on the perimeter during USC's loss against Arizona Tuesday.
Junior guard Boogie Ellis dribbles the ball on the perimeter during USC’s loss against Arizona Tuesday. Ellis had 9 points in the game. (Riley Yen | Daily Trojan)

There is no shortage of ramifications for this Saturday’s primetime, men’s basketball season finale against rival No. 17 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. The winner will earn the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament and an all-important Quad 1 victory eight days ahead of Selection Sunday. 

“We’re going to bring our A-game Saturday night and, hopefully, get some momentum going into the two tournaments,” said senior guard Drew Peterson in an interview after practice.  

The Bruins’ Head Coach Mick Cronin will seek his first victory over USC in his three years with UCLA. Andy Enfield, USC’s leading man, has had Cronin’s number through the years, looking to extend the Trojan’s five-game winning streak over their crosstown rival. 

No. 16 USC comes off 40 minutes of basketball it would rather forget: No. 2 Arizona showed why it deserved its ranking, putting on an offensive clinic against the Trojans’ normally potent defense.

“If you play as poorly as we did, you have to learn something from that,” Enfield said. “The players had to realize what they did wrong … That was not the same thing we’ve been all season, it was disappointing.”

Five Wildcats scored in the double digits, and the team shot an astounding 48% from three. 

“Arizona was definitely a wake up call for us,” junior guard Ethan Anderson said. “We needed that game in order to really spark us and focus right going into March.” 

The Bruins shook off their 68-63 loss at Oregon with comfortable road wins over Oregon State and Washington. All five starters scored in double digits against the Beavers. Junior guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 30 points in the Washington game. If recent momentum is a factor in Saturday’s game, UCLA has the advantage. 

Junior guard and leading scorer Johnny Juzang is currently “50-50” to play in the game, Cronin said. A consistent bucket-getter, Juzang has missed the past two games for the Bruins.

Playing in the comfort of its own home has proved a recipe of success for UCLA. It has only lost one home game, an 84-81 overtime loss to the Ducks without fans. It was at home that the Bruins dismantled the Wildcats, holding them to just 59 points.

UCLA also has an impressive early season victory against now No. 11 Villanova. A presumably rowdy crowd could bring momentum for the Bruins. 

“They want to win really bad,” Peterson said. “We’re going to come out hungry and look to continue that win streak.”

The good news for Trojan fans is USC’s success as a road team, with losses only to Arizona and Stanford. 

Additionally, USC played one of its best games against the Bruins early this season, even without the presence of junior forward and leading scorer Isaiah Mobley. 

“It’s going to be awesome,” Peterson said. “Isaiah Mobley is such a big part of our team so we’re going to be really confident and energized for a primetime game on Saturday night.”

Tip off is 7 p.m.