Trojans upset rival Bruins in Pac-10 tournament

About a week or two ago, I posted a topic on SB Nation’s Bracketology blog asking whether the USC Trojans had a shot to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament. The overwhelming response was no, unless the Trojans were to somehow win the Pac-10 tournament as the sixth seed. Well, after Friday night’s upset win over crosstown rival UCLA, the men of Troy are now one win away from earning that third consecutive trip to the Big Dance for the first time in school history.

But don’t think that Friday night’s victory was some mere fluke. All one needs to do is take a quick gander at the box score to realize that the Bruins were thoroughly outplayed by a Trojan team, which appeared as if it was the one that was ranked fifteenth in the country. Playing with a sense of purpose, the Trojans were in control of the game from the opening tip. They lead 33-28 at halftime and eventually won by a score of 65-55. At several points in the game, the Trojans even led by double figures. Not too shabby, eh.

Once again the staple of a Tim Floyd-led postseason victory was defense. Known as one of the best defensive field goals team in the conference, the Trojans forced UCLA into its worst shooting performance of the season at 27.1%.

Besides not only dramatically increasing their NCAA tourney hopes with their 20th victory, the win was also a little sweeter for the Trojans, as it was the first in the last five games against the Bruins.

A year ago, O.J. Mayo was completely shutdown by Russell Westbrook, as the Trojans lost to the Bruins in the infamous home blackout game 56-46. Later in the year, they lost in the semifinal meeting 57-54. 2009 hadn’t been too kind to the Trojans either. On January 11th, ‘SC lost to by four points at home despite leading for most of the game. It didn’t get any better on February 4th, as they suffered their worst loss of the season, a 76-60 defeat on UCLA’s home court.

But even with the two frustrating regular season losses, it is the Trojans, not the Bruins who are moving on to the Pac-10 tournament finals. Here are the top performances who made this possible…

1.) DeMar DeRozan has already begun improving his draft stock this postseason. The freshman shooting guard scored 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while also leading the team in rebounding with 13.

2.) Taj Gibson might have only had six shot attempt, but he made each of them count. The Trojan big man made five of those six shots to score 13 points in addition to collecting 11 rebounds for yet another triple-double.

3.) While he might have scored just eight points, Daniel Hackett was once again the leader of the Trojans defense, which completely shutdown the UCLA offense.

Play of the Game: When the clock read 0:00. I know the game was filled with plenty of acrobatic dunks and momentum changing shots but this was the most satisfying aspect of the game. Too many times have these Trojans been so close and so competitive, only to lose in the final minutes. This time, they hung on for the victory and a trip to the conference championship game.

What to expect tomorrow: In tomorrow’s championship game, ‘SC will face fourth seeded Arizona State, who split the season series with the Trojans. On January 15th, the Sun Devils’ star James Harden was held to just four points, as ASU fell to the Trojans by eleven points at the Galen Center. One month later, the Trojans lost on a questionable block/charger call leading to Tim Floyd’s ejection. Expect Saturday’s game to be competitive once again.

Next Game: 3:00 p.m. (CBS)