USC’s Marginal Effort Is One for the Books

There’s no need for elaborate explanations or in-depth analysis of USC’s 105-61 loss to Arizona Saturday.

Pretty simple, really.

“Great shooting on our part and the Trojans couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” Arizona Coach Lute Olson said. “That happens once in a while.”

The problem is, the Trojans allowed it to happen. They let the Wildcats take uncontested shot after uncontested shot. On offense they fired up too many off-balance jumpers. Other than Brian Scalabrine, the Trojans didn’t attack the basket aggressively.

Let’s step beyond the shooting percentages (53.6% for Arizona, including 73.7% on three-pointers; 29.9% for USC, including 17.6% in the first half). Here’s a stat that’s a pure measurement of desire: Arizona had 18 offensive rebounds. That’s a pretty solid number on its own; Arizona State’s league-leading average is 15.7 per game. Now consider that Arizona had 18 offensive rebounds off only 35 missed shots (including free throws). More than the words, that’s what lets you know how much more active the Wildcats were than the Trojans.

Even the most ardent, Conquest-humming Trojan fan can recognize that Arizona is better than USC. But 44 points better? In Los Angeles? After a couple of days of marinating in that tough loss to UCLA? No way.

It’s a loss that leaves you wondering whether the Trojans (17-7, 7-5 in Pac-10) will make the NCAA tournament, or even whether they deserve to. Only one of their seven Pac-10 victories came against an opponent with a winning conference record. They have dropped three of their past five games and need to regroup quickly.

“We’ve just got to come together and buy into what our coaches are telling us,” Desmon Farmer said.

The implication being that they’re not doing much of either right now. And that’s not a healthy sign.

It’s not too common to see a college basketball game start at 11 a.m. It’s even more rare to see one that’s over by noon. Actually, this one was safely in the bag for Arizona by 11:30.

The Trojans took 2 1/2 minutes to score their first point and needed 10 1/2 minutes to reach double figures. By then the Wildcats had already doubled their score.

The early start was dictated by CBS, but anything--even those Saturday morning hunting and fishing shows on ESPN--would make for more exciting television than this.

The only thing worth watching in this one was Arizona’s fabulous Gilbert Arenas. Fresh off his 30-point night against UCLA on Thursday, Gilbert Great was almost perfect Saturday on his way to scoring 27 points.

The early start didn’t bother him one bit. In fact, he had been up since 4 a.m., walking the hallways of the Marriott in Marina del Rey, thinking about keeping Jeff Trepagnier off the offensive boards.

Maybe the Trojans should have spent the early-morning hours fretting about Arenas. The sole element of suspense in the second half was when or if Arenas would miss. It finally happened when Farmer blocked his jump shot with 9 1/2 minutes left. Arenas finished eight for nine from the field and made all five of his three-pointers and all six free throws.

When Arizona--the preseason No. 1 team in the nation--lost five of its first 13 games, it was poised to be the country’s biggest disappointment. Even more disappointing than Sade’s latest album.

Arenas was a big reason why. He turned in his share of clunkers, including a four-point night in a loss to Illinois.

“In the first half [of the season] I think I was playing more like a robot,” Arenas said. “We were supposed to be No. 1, so everything we did was supposed to have been perfect. So when it wasn’t, I just got down on myself. And I think the team did too.”

Now he’s in a groove, averaging 19 points over his last 12 games. And now that the pressure’s off, the Wildcats might be in a good position to make a run at the title. After all, they were a No. 4 seed when they won it all in 1997.

They’re not as bad as their 24% first half the other night at Pauley Pavilion. And they’re not as good as their performance Saturday.

“I think [the real Arizona’s] still out there,” Arenas said. “I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people in the tournament. I think if we win a championship, everybody’s going to be like, ‘They should have won it.’ We’re going to surprise a lot of people.

“We’ve just got to focus more, take shots that are within our reach, not just shoot it up there.”

The best thing about Arenas is the joy with which he plays the game. He found time to smile during the pressure-packed overtime at UCLA. And you could tell the L.A. native enjoyed sticking it to the Trojans in front of his friends and family Saturday.

“I just love college basketball,” Arenas said. “It’s great. It’s fun. That’s what people came here to see, a great game, great players. I have to give them what they came to see.”

Thanks to him, the fans got to see a great player. Too bad USC couldn’t give them a great game.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: ja.adande@latimes.com.