A Cross-Town Rivalry Takes On Some Additional Significance

UCLA will play USC tonight at Pauley Pavilion in a matchup that probably ranks among the most eagerly anticipated between these teams in the last 20 years--or since they ranked 1-2 in the polls in the 1970-71 season.

It’s the Pacific 10 Conference opener for both teams and should provide a better answer to the question that has fueled the buzz surrounding the game:

Is USC for real?

Among those who would say yes is UCLA Coach Jim Harrick, who would rather not have his suspicions confirmed at the expense of the 10th-ranked Bruins.

“I like their ability to get up and down the floor and their offensive production,” Harrick said of the unranked Trojans. “They’ve got three legitimate scorers and a tremendous all-around player in (Harold) Miner.

“I know they’re for real because everybody I talk to says they’ve got a good club.”

Certainly, it is the Trojans’ best in more than four seasons under Coach George Raveling.

“It seems like he has turned them loose a little more than he has in the past,” Harrick said of Raveling, who was hired at USC from a list of candidates that included Harrick, a former Pepperdine coach. “They’re running and scoring a lot more points.”

USC (8-1) has lost only to Maryland, 72-59, five weeks ago at College Park, Md. The Trojans have won their last seven games, their longest winning streak in seven seasons.

Included were victories at Colorado State and Notre Dame, each of which significantly bolstered the confidence of the Trojans, who have finished in the bottom half of the Pac-10 standings every season since earning a share of the conference title in 1985.

UCLA’s only loss in 11 games was to Iowa, 88-71, two weeks ago at Iowa City. The Bruins won their first eight games for their best start in 16 years, shooting to No. 5 in the polls. Their 10-1 start is still their best since the 1983-84 season.

UCLA is 6-0 at Pauley Pavilion, where its average margin of victory has been more than 25 points.

USC relies on three players for the bulk of its scoring--forward Ronnie Coleman and guards Robert Pack and Miner.

Miner, who established a Pac-10 freshman scoring record last season, has averaged 25.9 points and 5.1 rebounds. Coleman, a 6-foot-6 senior, has averaged 17.6 points and a team-leading 9.6 rebounds. Pack has averaged 14.6 points and a team-leading 4.9 assists.

UCLA is more balanced and probably deeper than the Trojans.

Forward Don MacLean leads the Bruins with averages of 24 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Tracy Murray has averaged 18.9 points and 6.4 rebounds, point guard Darrick Martin 13.8 points and 6.9 assists.

Freshman Shon Tarver and senior Keith Owens give the Bruins reserve power. Tarver has averaged 11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and three assists, the late-blooming Owens 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.

“Look at their offensive weapons,” Raveling said of the Bruins, who have averaged 104.5 points a game while making 56.1% of their shots. “There’s no question we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Notes

USC won the last meeting, 76-75, last February at the Sports Arena. . . . In that game, USC’s Harold Miner was given a three-point basket with 3:11 to give the Trojans a 73-70 lead. Videotape showed that Miner’s feet were inside the three-point line when he shot, so it should have counted for two points. . . . After Miner broke Don MacLean’s freshman scoring record by one point, MacLean kidded Miner about the phantom three-pointer.

UCLA beat USC last season at Pauley Pavilion, 89-72. . . . USC hasn’t won at Pauley Pavilion since 1985, when it needed four overtimes to beat the Bruins, 80-78. . . . Before they met for the first time in 1971, USC was 16-0 and ranked No. 1 and UCLA, coming off a loss at Notre Dame, was 15-1 and ranked No. 2. UCLA beat the Trojans, 64-60, at the Sports Arena, beat them again at Pauley Pavilion later in the season and won the national championship. USC finished 24-2 and ranked No. 2, but didn’t qualify for the NCAA tournament.