Bibby Prescribes Rest for His Team

In the wake of Wednesday night’s shocking, last-second 67-65 loss to UCLA, USC took Thursday off. The scheduled break allows the Trojans a chance to regroup after their third loss of the season on a last-second three-point basket.

No. 25 USC (16-6 overall, 8-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference) has an eight-day break between games, and Coach Henry Bibby plans to lay low with Arizona State coming to town next Thursday.

“What we try to do as a staff is to monitor as much as we can in terms of playing time and practicing,” Bibby said of the lull. “We’ll really cut back and not go as hard and try to eliminate injuries.

“It will be important that we monitor the kids more, be more conscious of what they eat and their rest than we’ve probably done in the past. And probably cut down on the practice times, [have] more skull sessions, more film, more shooting, more walking through things

With his program still in the fetal stage of being a national power, Bibby frowns upon playing what he says are needless nonconference games immediately after facing UCLA.

Only once since Bibby was named coach in 1996 have the Trojans played a non-Pac-10 opponent after meeting the Bruins.

Cincinnati pummeled the Trojans, 100-81, in 1997 and Bibby has since opted to take a break after each UCLA game.

The Bruins, meanwhile, will travel to Philadelphia to face Villanova on Saturday. Earlier this year, the Bruins upset then-No. 1 Kansas at Pauley Pavilion less than 48 hours after losing to USC at the Forum.

“I don’t do that,” Bibby said of UCLA Coach Steve Lavin scheduling nonconference games against “name” schools after the intra-city rivalry game.

“But everybody has a different opinion. I’m not right or wrong, Steve Lavin’s not right or wrong.

“My thinking is I think the kids get tired so you back off them. I don’t need Brandon Granville hurt in a nonconference game. The most important thing to me now is rest and the Pac-10.”

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Paul Gutierrez