Trojans Will Try to Avoid Wave Upset at Forum

Don’t expect first-year Pepperdine Coach Paul Westphal to get misty over playing his alma mater tonight in the second game of the Fab Four doubleheader at the Forum.

And don’t expect USC (4-1) to overlook Westphal’s Waves (3-2), what with the job they did in beating UCLA, 85-78, last week at Pauley Pavilion.

“I have great memories of playing at SC,” said Westphal, an All-American guard who played for the Trojans from 1970-72. He was inducted into USC’s athletic hall of fame in 1997.

“It’s been a long time and it’s not like we’re playing at the Sports Arena,” he said. “SC’s got a great team and that’s enough to overcome any feelings of nostalgia.

“I’m sure that [the Trojans] can make a nice statement if they can avoid having happen to them what happened to UCLA.”

That’s USC’s goal.

“It makes us more aware of what [Pepperdine] is capable of doing because UCLA’s a good team; they were in the top 10,” USC point guard Brandon Granville said. “[The Waves] like to push the ball and [guard] Craig Lewis shoots the ball pretty much whenever he wants to ... shoots it well.

“And they’ve got a lot of athletic guys, undersized big men that are real athletic and run the floor and shoot jump shots.”

USC Coach Henry Bibby also played collegiately from 1970-72, when UCLA went a combined 87-3. One of the Bruins’ losses was to Westphal’s Trojans in 1970.

“Any night, any team can beat you,” Bibby said. “It doesn’t matter where you’re ranked, what conference you’re in.”

Granville said Wednesday there are no hard feelings smoldering from Bibby’s decision to bench his three senior starters--Granville and forwards David Bluthenthal and Sam Clancy--for the first 10 minutes of the Trojans’ 82-54 win over Rhode Island on Tuesday night.

“My feelings were never hurt,” Granville said with a smile. “I’ve been here long enough that I don’t let that kind of stuff get to me. It’s a new day and Coach Bibby doesn’t hold any grudges and you’re coming back with a clean slate so that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Bibby continually has lamented his seniors’ work ethic since practice began in mid-October.

The opening game of tonight’s doubleheader will be a battle of Bulldogs as No. 21 Fresno State (7-1) faces Gonzaga (6-2).

Fresno State beat then-No. 20 USC in the preseason National Invitation Tournament on Nov. 15 at Selland Arena, earning a Thanksgiving week trip to New York for the tournament’s final two rounds. The Bulldogs lost on a last-second dunk to Wake Forest, 62-61, but came back to beat Michigan State in the third-place game, 63-58.

Fresno State senior center Melvin Ely voluntarily sat out two games last weekend after questions arose regarding possible improper benefits in the form of a Las Vegas hotel room being secured by an agent. But he was cleared by the school in time to score 22 points, grab seven rebounds and block three shots in the Bulldogs’ 75-65 win over San Francisco Tuesday.

“A reservation was made in his name by an agency but he never stayed there and his signature was never on a receipt, unbelievable,” Fresno State Coach Jerry Tarkanian said.

Gonzaga, which advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament in 1999 and the Sweet 16 the past two years, made it to the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout two weeks ago, beating St. John’s and Texas before losing to Marquette, 72-63.

The Bulldogs’ only other loss was to then-No. 2 Illinois, 76-58, in Gonzaga’s season opener Nov. 16.

Gonzaga, led by senior point guard Dan Dickau (16.9 points and 4.5 assists), leads the all-time series against Fresno State, 2-1, with wins in 1936 and 1961. Fresno State won the last meeting, 77-76, in 1991.

The Fab Four was initially to be played at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas on Friday, but after concerns arose in the summer concerning college basketball games being played in casinos, the site was shifted to Inglewood.

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Fab Four

TONIGHT AT THE FORUM

No. 21 Fresno State (7-1) vs. Gonzaga (6-2)

6:30, Fox Sports Net 2

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USC (4-1) vs.

Pepperdine (3-2)

9, Fox Sports Net 2

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Tickets: (213) 480-3232