CHRIS DUFRESNE / ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL

USC and UCLA , cross-town rivals who met downtown for a change, went body-and-soul against each other at Staples Center on Friday with a possible Pac-10 tournament title in the balance.

These guys don’t need motivation to go at each other -- they only need a time and place.

But it helps when there’s a big crowd, the game is a semifinal and the NCAA tournament’s field of 65 is being announced on Sunday.

UCLA was already ticketed in and already had defeated USC twice this year, but the Bruins had something to prove after letting Washington win this year’s conference title.

USC was more desperate, needing a victory over its ranked rival to get back on the NCAA selection committee’s radar.

This time desperate prevailed, with USC winning, 65-55, and earning a finals matchup against Arizona State.

DeMar DeRozan’s fall-down three-pointer with four minutes left put the Trojans up by 14 and kept fans dreaming.

USC poked and prodded and now has 20 wins, a win over UCLA and enough juice to warrant an at-large tournament bid.

USC can remove all doubt by beating Arizona State and earning the automatic bid.

There was also payback for Feb. 4, when UCLA trounced the Trojans by 16 points at Pauley Pavilion while celebrating alleged triumphs on national football signing day.

Football Coach Rick Neuheisel grabbed the microphone at halftime that night and riled up emotions.

It was UCLA’s night and there was nothing USC could do . . . until Friday.

Rivals don’t forget stuff like that.

USC wanted Friday’s game so badly the Trojans almost knocked each other out in pursuit of the ball, with Marcus Simmons at one first-half point crashing into teammate Daniel Hackett under the backboard.

It was a hard-day’s nightcap.

A lot of bizarre things happened on tournament-week Friday, starting with a 1:22 a.m, last-call ending at Madison Square Garden in which Syracuse needed six overtimes to beat Connecticut 127-117, in the Big East quarterfinals.

The game, which lasted 3 hours 46 minutes, is already being cataloged as one of the greatest in college basketball history.

Of the 244 points scored, 102 came after regulation.

Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn played 67 of a possible 70 minutes.

Eight players fouled out. Paul Harris, a 6-5 forward for Syracuse, finished with 29 points and 22 rebounds.

Connecticut attempted 106 shots in the game to Syracuse’s 103.

“I can’t even feel my legs right now,” Flynn said after the game.

Well, guess what?

It was the first of two games Syracuse would play Friday, the Orange returning later to face West Virginia in a semifinal game that went . . . only one overtime.

Syracuse won this one too, 74-69.

So that makes, in less than 24 hours, two wins in seven total overtimes with a Big East tournament final game left today against . . . Louisville.

Did Ernie Banks ever say “Let’s play three?”

The tournament bubble, like Flynn’s legs, was wobbling.

Maryland, left for dead a few minutes ago, nudged closer to a bid by improving to 20-12 with an upset win over Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals.

It was only days ago that people were asking whether Terrapins Coach Gary Williams was going to keep his job.

And who, really, did not have Temple vs. Duquesne playing for an NCAA bid in the Atlantic 10 Conference?

Temple got to the finals by upsetting Xavier while Duquesne beat Dayton.

Xavier is still a lock for the NCAA tournament, but what about Dayton?

What about a lot of teams?

Kentucky, winners of seven national championships, is likely going to miss the tournament for the first time since 1991 after losing to Louisiana State on Friday, which will do little to cool the seat under Wildcats Coach Billy Gillispie.

Baylor, one of this year’s biggest disappointments, suddenly finds itself in the Big 12 final after beating Texas.

Michigan State, trying to take advantage of Pittsburgh and Connecticut losses to possibly snag a No. 1 NCAA seeding, faces Ohio State today after beating Minnesota.

Utah State, told by bracket pundits it needed to claim the Western Athletic Conference tournament title despite winning 27 games in the regular season, needed a late basket to beat New Mexico State in Friday night’s semifinal round.

OK, selection committee, is 29 wins enough?

Probably not. As far as victories go, you Aggies had better make it an even 30.

Bubble teams: Do not yet abandon hope.

There is still a Saturday and a Sunday left for scenarios to play out, for schools to slide on and off the committee’s bracket board.

Only two days left, though, in this close-out sale.

Come Sunday, all bids must go!

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chris.dufresne@latimes.com