Exactly: The Trojans Received More Votes

When USC plays Washington in football Oct. 23, Trojan Coach Pete Carroll might want to keep in mind a quote Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times found on ESPN.com.

It came from new Washington President Mark Emmert in January, when he was the chancellor at Louisiana State: “USC is the national champion the same way Al Gore is president.”

Trivia time: Only two active coaches have won more than one NCAA Division I men’s basketball title. Who are they?

The half of it: If the halftimes of NCAA tournament games seem longer than normal, that’s because they are.

According to the Washington Post, NCAA officials last year extended halftime of tournament games from 15 to 20 minutes, at the request of CBS, and CBS asked the NCAA to continue the practice this year.

Said Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser of the longer halftime, “It’s like ‘Gone With the Wind.’ ”

Friendly floors: Illinois, which had tied for the Big Ten basketball championship five times from 1964 to 2001, won its first outright Big Ten title since 1952 by winning at Ohio State this month.

Illinois then won its first two NCAA tournament games on the same court, after Ohio State’s court was moved to a hockey arena in Columbus, Ohio, for a subregional.

Steve Vanderpool of Stats Inc. says that in 1968, UCLA played Houston twice on the same court, but two time zones apart. When the Bruins played Houston at the Astrodome, the floor came from the Los Angeles Sports Arena. When the teams met again in the Final Four semifinals, it was on the same court, this time at the Sports Arena.

Kindred spirits: Reader Erik Schuman of Fountain Valley, on Japanese racehorse Haruurara, who has lost 106 consecutive races: “Go back and re-read that story, but in place of ‘Haruurara’ substitute the words ‘Chicago Cubs’ and it is just about the same story.”

Questionable credentials: Hollywood writer-producer-director Sam Simon manages heavyweight boxer Lamon Brewster, who fights Wladimir Klitschko on April 10. Simon is confident his fighter will do well.

“The two things that Wladimir is known for, being 6 feet 7 inches tall and having a doctorate, are two things that are totally useless in boxing,” Simon was quoted as saying by Tom Hauser of Secondsout.com.

Looking back: On this date in 1950, City College of New York defeated Bradley, 71-68, in the NCAA championship game, becoming the only team to win the National Invitation Tournament and NCAA titles in the same year. CCNY had beaten Bradley, 69-61, in the NIT final March 18.

Trivia answer: Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight, three each.

And finally: Steve Aschburner of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, writing for AOL.com, on last weekend’s implosion of Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium: “True to form, hundreds of fans cheered with the same zeal once reserved for booing Santa Claus.”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.