Pac 10 Crosstown Rivals Meet Again: A Look at UCLA-USC

UCLA Bruins at USC Trojans, Galen Center, Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, January 9, 2011, 10:30 pm Eastern, Fox Sports Net
Opening Line: USC -5
Current Line: USC -5
Opening Total: 131 1/2
Current Total: 131
Money Line: USC -215 / UCLA +185

Malcolm Lee and the UCLA Bruins are 5 point underdogs at crosstown rivals the USC Trojans.

The 9-5 UCLA Bruins travel across town to take on arch-rival 9-6 USC. both are 1-1 in conference after splitting with the 2 Washington schools. Both beat Washington St but lost to Washington on the Southern California schools’ home courts. UCLA had won 6 in a row before losing to Washington last week. The 6 game winning streak followed a 4 game losing streak for the Bruins. UCLA has losses to Villanova, Kansas, VCU, and Montana on the year. UCLA has wins over BYU and Washington St on the season. USC has been kind of up-and -down this season, and no one really knows what team will show up from night to night. They have losses to Rider, Bradley, Nebraska, TCU, Kansas, and Washington as mentioned earlier. The Trojans have wins over Texas and Tennessee, and the loss at Kansas was only by 2 points. Yet this team lost by 20 points to Rider on a neutral court and by 12 at TCU. UCLA leads the overall series 128-103 against USC. The Bruins have won and covered 3 of the last 5 meetings against USC, and 3 of the 5 game gone under the total as well. UCLA has gone 5-13 ATS in games where the total is between 130 and 140 points in the last two years. USC has gone 10-1 ATS in the same situation over the last two years. USC is 7-16 ATS as a favorite in the last two years.

UCLA guard Lazeric Jones tore a tendon in right middle finger against Washington. Surgery will not be necessary, and he is expected to play with a splint against USC. Jones scores 10.7 points and leads the team in assists with 3.5 a game. He is also the Bruins top three point shooter making 40.4% from behind the arc. Four other Bruins average in double figure scoring. Forward Reeves Nelson is the leading scorer and rebounder for the Bruins. Nelson averages 15.0 points, and 8.1 rebounds a game. Forward Tyler Honeycutt averages 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. He leads the team in steals with 1.1 a game and blocks with 1.7 a game. Malcolm Lee averages 12.8 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists a game. Joshua Smith averages 10 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. UCLA is outscoring opponents 74-69 on the year. The Bruins are shooting 46.1% from the field and 33.8% from 3-point range. Bruin opponents are shooting 43.1% from the field. UCLA shoots 65.2% from the free throw line. The Bruins average 37.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +4.0. UCLA averages 15.6 assists and 14.5 turnovers a game. UCLA forces 13.4 turnovers a game on defense. UCLA averages 6.3 steals and 5.7 blocks a game.

The Trojans are pretty healthy with no significant injuries. Like the Bruins, 5 Trojans score in double figures. Junior Forward Nikola Vucevic leads the team in scoring with 15.9 points, rebounding with 10.0 a game, and blocks with 1.5 a game. Junior guard Jio Fontan averages 14.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals a game. He missed the 1st 9 games of the season. Maurice Jones averages 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.9 steals a game. Jones leads the team in both steals and assists. Donte Smith averages 10.1 points a game. Alex Stepheson averages 10 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks a game. USC is outscoring opponents 68-63 on the season. They shoot 44.4% from the field and 36.5% from 3-point range. USC opponents are shooting 40.1% from the field. The Trojans make 67.8% of their free throws. They average 35.1 rebounds and have a rebounding margin of +2.3. The Trojans average 11.9 assists and 12.4 turnovers a game. The force 13 turnovers a game on defense. USC averages 6.5 steals and 3.1 blocks a game.

Early in the Pac 10 season, Washington appears to be the class of the league as they are 4-0. The rest of the league seems to be wide open, as the teams are evenly matched. I think these two teams, though talented are too inconsistent to compete for the league title. I think UCLA is the better team, but USC seems to play up to the level of their competition. This should be a great game between two longtime crosstown rivals.