After USC’s starting lineup was announced, the UCLA student section erupted with chants of, “Go Home!”, the lights at Pauley Pavilion dimmed, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” played in the background and a video of a bear chewing on a Trojan jersey was displayed on the stadium screen.

The UCLA starting lineup was announced alongside spurts of fire from behind the backboard, lighting up the arena with heat — both physically and metaphorically.

It was to the tune of these dramatics that UCLA (22-9, 13-7 Big Ten) outplayed the Trojans (15-16, 7-13) in a completely one-sided game that ended 90-63, with the Bruins leading by as much as 36 late in the second half.

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For the Bruins, Saturday’s game held more significance than simply garnering a double-bye for the Big Ten tournament — which they successfully acquired with their dominant victory. UCLA held their senior night to honor graduating players and staff. Due to the festivities, UCLA Head Coach Mick Cronin deviated from his traditional starting lineup, selecting senior guard Lazar Stefanovic to start in place of sophomore center Aday Mara.

Despite this deviation from the norm, UCLA started strong. The Bruins seemed to control the court offensively and defensively, allowing only two Trojan points in the first seven minutes of the contest. The Bruins were on fire.

The Trojans were not. They had a bumbling start, a theme that continued throughout the game. The Bruins racked up an impressive 37 points off turnovers alone, as USC simply could not take care of the basketball.

The Trojans’ Achilles’ heel came in the form of UCLA’s two starting guards, sophomore Eric Dailey Jr. and junior Skyy Clark. Both fired away clean looks, responsible for most of the Bruins’ offensive production with 25 and 17 points, respectively. 

“I was really just letting the game come to me, and also just taking advantage of my opportunities,” Clark said. “My teammates were finding me, great screens, they found me on the cut, so whatever opportunities I had I made sure to take advantage of them.”

Dailey, who is the Bruins’ second leading scorer with an average of 12 points per game, also recorded three steals while also shooting an absurd 76.9% from the field. Clark also had incredible efficiency from the field, shooting 70% in the contest.

When USC could finally get an open shot off, Clark or another one of the Bruins’ empowered guards would charge down the court — immediately pulling up and sinking a triple.

The effect on the Trojans’ attitude was glaring; after a 13-3 Bruin run to start the second half, it seemed as though the game was all but over, not because the score gap was insurmountable, but because USC seemed to give up on their offensive possessions and in fast break situations.

“The rivalry they didn’t understand, even in game one, and they certainly didn’t understand today — what it means to the student body at USC, what it means to boosters and alumni,” USC Head Coach Eric Musselman said of his team’s lackluster rivalry game performance. “We played the game like we were playing any normal game, and it’s not supposed to be a normal game.”

Perhaps the most telling sign of the mental toll this game took could be seen by looking at Musselman, who sat down with 4:13 left in the game, a stark difference from his usual signals of energy and frustration when the Trojans are down big.

“It’s been bad all year. I mean, I look back to our struggles in nonconference and we were just getting beat off the bounce,” Musselman said. “Just look at the numbers, like people are having career nights … There’s nights UCLA struggles on offense for stretches of games. They didn’t struggle at all.”

The Bruins were only emboldened by the drop off in Trojan energy, as their intensity strengthened in contrast — a credit to their chemistry and cohesion as a unified entity.

“I think as a team, you talk about adversity, ups and downs, and we stayed together through all the way, and that made us closer each time we went through something,” Dailey said. “Just as a team, we got this mindset … and having that mindset leads to the court, and we put ourselves in a great position going into these tournaments.”

The Trojans’ only true offensive production came in the form of redshirt freshman guard Wesley Yates III, who scored 15 of the Trojans’ 27 points in the first half, shooting a perfect 4 for 4 from the field. After Cronin adjusted his defensive strategy, Yates could not shake his defenders, only putting up one more successful shot in the game.

Even with this low showing, the Trojans will still participate in the postseason Big Ten Tournament, just barely getting in as the No. 14 seed in the tournament.

The Trojans will take on Rutgers (15-16, 8-12), led by star freshmen, guard Dylan Harper and forward Ace Bailey, in the first round at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday.