USC Seeks 4th Straight Over UCLA

Last Saturday was a day of ending streaks, with California snapping UCLA’s 52-game domination over the Bears and USC beating Arkansas in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks’ first nonconference loss at home in 11 years.

Now the Trojans will be trying for another historical footnote Wednesday night against the Bruins at Pauley Pavilion.

USC will be trying to beat UCLA for the fourth straight time. That hasn’t happened since the Trojans put together a 42-game win streak over the Bruins from the last game of the 1932 season through the third game of the 1943 season.

But the rival coaches, USC’s Stan Morrison and UCLA’s Walt Hazzard, aren’t necessarily concerned with musty statistics. They have more immediate problems, such as keeping their teams in the Pacific 10 race.

USC and UCLA are locked in a four-way tie for fifth place with 3-4 records along with Stanford and Arizona State.

“I have great concerns about UCLA,” Morrison said. “They’re returning home, they’ve had a tough week (losses to Stanford and Cal) and they want us badly. They have two guys, Reggie Miller and Montel Hatcher, who are nothing short of sensational as scorers. But we can’t afford the luxury of pinpointing everything to stop those two. Our attention has to be devoted to all of the UCLA players whether they be starters or substitutes. It will take a concentrated effort for us, or it will be a long night.”

Trojan Notes

Stan Morrison is pleased with the way his team has been playing. “Our team has taken on a personality that I find very, very positive,” he said. “There is a tough-mindedness and greater attention to detail and, foremost, there is a greater commitment to the team. That happens when your guys start to understand their roles and even more importantly how we want to play. For example, Tom Lewis would appear to be in a shooting slump. But in the last two games his shot selection has improved tremendously.