UCLA is trying not to live in the past when it comes to USC

The Joe E. Brown All-Stars, Bank of America and Universal Pictures don’t find their way onto UCLA’s schedule anymore.

It may sound like the stuff of Hollywood, but those were actual opponents of the Bruins in the 1930s and 1940s. Equally surreal was what was happening in the rivalry between UCLA and USC.

The Bruins lost 42 consecutive games to that other team across town. It’s true. The team that leads its rival, 11-0, in national championships could not win a game in the series between February 1932 and January 1943.

No. 6 UCLA’s current four-game losing streak against USC is tied for the longest skid in the series since then, adding some potential historic intrigue to their next matchup, Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion.

“Even losing one is uncomfortable, let alone four in a row,” UCLA center Thomas Welsh said Tuesday. “This is a big game for sure. We want to keep our win steak going and end that losing streak against USC.”

USC’s longest winning streak in the series since the Trojans played home games at the Shrine Auditorium and signaled the end of each half with gun blasts have been four-game pockets of success from 2003 to 2004, 2009 to 2011, and the current run that started in January 2016. USC beat UCLA, 84-76, last month by using a four-guard lineup and a zone defense that helped generate 17 turnovers.

The Bruins (23-3, 10-3 Pac-12 Conference) are 4-0 since that defeat, largely by tightening their defense in the wake of a lengthy players-only meeting after the game at the Galen Center.

“That meeting definitely helped,” said freshman point guard Lonzo Ball, who pinned the loss on himself after committing a season-worst seven turnovers. “The USC game kind of woke us up, put us back in [our] place and we’ve been playing better basketball ever since.”

The Trojans (21-5, 8-5) have also continued to thrive, winning three of their last four games to all but clinch a second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. UCLA Coach Steve Alford said he thought USC should be nationally ranked but noted that a victory over the Trojans would give the Bruins a three-game advantage over their rival in the conference standings.

It would also end one of UCLA’s more aggravating streaks in the series between the teams.

“We’re not going to live in the past,” Ball said. “Even though we dropped one up there, we’ve got to get one here.”

Give it a rest

Alford described his players as “a tired team” in the first meeting against USC after having been one of the first Pac-12 teams to open conference play and one of the last to enjoy the “bye week” in which it played only one game.

UCLA should be fully rested for the rematch. The Bruins will have gone nearly a week without a game after beating Oregon State on Sunday.

Alford said he intended to “maximize some rest time” for the Bruins with the Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments only a few weeks away. Practices have already been reduced, with players spending no more than about 75 minutes on the court each day.

“This is such a big basketball IQ group, you just want to make sure we’re very fresh down the stretch,” Alford said. “Right now I think we are, we’ve just got to stay that way.”

Etc.

UCLA’s average home attendance of 10,652 is its highest since it averaged 10,739 during the 1997-98 season. Alford said the energy his players derived from fans during the second half of the Bruins’ victory over Oregon last week “was the difference in the game.” UCLA’s game against USC on Saturday is being billed as a blue-out, meaning fans are encouraged to wear that color. … Guard Bryce Alford has 1,776 points, leaving him nine away from surpassing Charles O’Bannon (1,784) for 10th place on the school’s all-time scoring list. … Guard Isaac Hamilton was not feeling well Tuesday and did not practice.

ben.bolch@latimes.com

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