Instead of a Talk Show, USC Wants to Be a Headliner

USC basketball players aren’t holding their breath and waiting for a thank-you note from UCLA, but some Trojans think they deserve one.

After all, they reason, they softened up No. 1 Stanford last Thursday, paving the way for the Bruins to pull off an upset two days later.

“I really think we wore [the Cardinal] down and beat them up,” USC guard Tyler Murphy said. “We gave UCLA the opportunity to win because we broke Stanford down so much. I don’t believe UCLA would have won if we hadn’t played Stanford first.”

That theory drew guffaws Tuesday at UCLA practice, where the Bruins were preparing to face the 22nd-ranked Trojans on Thursday at the Sports Arena.

“That’s what kind of team ‘SC has been,” forward Matt Barnes said. “They’re doing all the talking. We don’t really get caught up in that kind of game. . . . We’re not going to try to get caught up in who owns L.A. We’re just going to show it.”

At the moment, both teams can stake a claim. UCLA just knocked off the nation’s top-ranked team and has won nine of 11 games, one of them an 80-75 victory over USC last month at Pauley Pavilion.

But the unranked Bruins cannot overlook that they were thoroughly outplayed in the second half of that game and nearly saw their lead evaporate.

“We were fortunate the clock expired,” UCLA Coach Steve Lavin said Tuesday at a luncheon for the two schools. “Because if that game had gone five more minutes, we probably would have lost.”

In a lot of ways, USC was just as impressive on its Bay Area trip as UCLA. After all, the Trojans almost upset Stanford, losing by six in the final minute. And USC cruised to an easy victory against California, which crushed the Bruins by 29 two days earlier.

Regardless, the Trojans came home, opened their newspapers and saw banner headlines bearing that oh-so-familiar four-letter word beginning with U and ending with CLA.

“It’s gotten a little old,” Trojan forward Sam Clancy said. “But we know they’re going to get all the publicity. We’re just trying to take care of business on our side of town. If we do that, we’ll end up with all the publicity at the end, if we’re where we want to be.”

USC’s Brian Scalabrine said he doesn’t worry about which team gets more headlines.

“It really doesn’t bother me anymore,” he said. “It would have meant something to me early on, like when I was a sophomore. But I’m a senior now, and I know [the media] puts UCLA on the front page because lots of people want to see that. To me, it doesn’t matter as long as we’re winning.”

Even on their home court, the Trojans have an uphill battle when it comes to playing UCLA. Respected as he is, USC Coach Henry Bibby is 1-8 in games against his alma mater.

Bibby’s lone triumph over the Bruins came at home last season, when all five USC starters scored in double figures--led by Jeff Trepagnier with 26--and the Trojans coasted to a 91-79 victory.

That’s ancient history, of course. The Trojans are tied with Cal for fourth place in the Pacific 10 Conference this season, and have lost to UCLA, Arizona and Stanford.

“As far as I’m concerned, USC is still kind of searching for a quality win, and we’ve had a lot,” UCLA guard Ray Young said. “That’s why we know this is going to be a tough game. Because by them beating us, that would really be their only quality win. They beat Pepperdine and some other mid-major schools. If they beat us, that would basically make their season.”

Or at least make their night.

“Ever since the buzzer sounded at the end of the first game [against UCLA], we’ve wanted to get revenge,” Murphy said. “We want to take back our city. We’ve got to kill UCLA, not just beat them. We’ve got to send a message. We want UCLA to know who owns the city and who’s the better team.”

Informed of that comment, UCLA point guard Earl Watson smiled and shook his head.

“So, they think they’re the kings of L.A.?” he asked. “What’s that make us? Visitors?”

UCLA at USC

Thursday,

7:30 p.m.

at Sports Arena

TELEVISION

Fox Sports

Net 2

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T.J. SIMERS

While all the talk has Steve Lavin leaving, there are rumors that Henry Bibby will be at UNLV next season. D2

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