USC 46 - ucla 56 - Conquest Chronicles

USC 46 - ucla 56

by Paragon SC on Feb 17, 2008 9:25 PM PST in USC Basketball Comment 6 comments

If you're looking for positive thoughts you came to the wrong place.

USC is going to have a hard time getting to the Tournament with the type of play I saw tonight. I give our guys credit going the whole evening on just one substitution but the amount of turnovers we had tonight (Mayo had like 10 by himself) and the lack of a 3-point threat really hurt us. I don't want to hear about how young this team is but 22 turnovers shows a lack of discipline and at this late juncture in the season we shouldn't be using that excuse.

I am going to go against the conventional wisdom here and pretty much say that Mayo is not our go to guy. His lack of consistency outside the arc and his lack of control with the ball hurt us tonight. Angelo Johnson looked scared out there tonight while Taj held his own with a great game and Dwight Lewis had a decent game with 16 points. Jefferson was so-so being held out of the later portion of the first half because of foul trouble.

We still have a hard time defending the screen as ucla found numerous ways to get the ball into a position score. I'm sorry this ucla team is not as good last year's team, they can be beat. Sure, they Love in the middle but they looked really sloppy on offense numerous times tonight I just don't see them as a number one seed. They play some good defense but when you need your big man to fire 3's to keep you in the lead that shows me that they are inconsistent.

Heck they didn't score for some 4-plus minutes towards the end of the game and we still couldn't close it out.

The Bruins avenged last month's 72-63 upset loss in Westwood in an emotionally charged game that featured a combined 32 turnovers and poor shooting by both teams over the final 6:22.

Love grabbed the last rebound and hung onto the ball for the final seven seconds. A grinning Collison stuck out his tongue at Love and they hugged as time expired.

USC was without starting guard Daniel Hackett, whose season is in jeopardy because of a stress fracture in his lower back and a torn oblique muscle.

His absence forced coach Tim Floyd to shorten his bench and he used just one sub, Keith Wilkinson, the entire game. As a result, some of the starters appeared winded midway through the second half.

The Trojans never led by more than one point in the first half, when they shot 48 percent. The Bruins outscored them 17-8 to end the half ahead 31-23 despite shooting 37 percent from the floor.

I realize we are thin and losing Hackett doesn't help matters but the continued high rate of turnovers and the high rate of missed 3-point shots are not going to help us going down the stretch. We haven't improved in these areas and that's a real issue this late in the season.

So that's it for tonight I will have more tomorrow.

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My thoughts on OJ

Have been aired on this board, and while I'll take back my overreaction after the first WSU loss, my take on OJ remains. He's gone after this year, this team (as depleted as it is) isn't going to the tournament, so the questions remains: "Was he worth it?"

I don't think anyone realized how much work OJ still needs. He'll go pro, he'll be a first round pick (but probably not a lottery pick), but man, I just don't see him being anything other than a Sebastian Telfair.

4 points and 10 turnovers. 'Nough said.

He was abused by Westbrook tonight, so what's going to happen to him when night after night he has to go against Kobe and Kidd and Wade and Allen and Paul and Nash and Harris and Bibby and on and on and on. Good luck, O.J.

by Zoulou on Feb 17, 2008 9:44 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

No excuses

Our offense needs a lot of work. We got a good game from Lewis and Gibson, but our 2 leading scorers only combined for 8 points. I expected a worse beatdown, but I didn't expect OJ and Davon being so flat.

Still, they earned a split against a superior team, and that's nothing to be ashamed of.

by frak on Feb 17, 2008 11:36 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

4 wins

that's what I think it's going to take for you to get in the tourney. That includes the Pac 10 tournament and is under the assumption one of your losses isn't to Oregon St. The non-conference schedule you played and strength of the Pac 10 is going to get you in if you're on the bubble. If you only win 3 games it's going to be veeeeeeeeery close.

Regarding Mayo. I don't think anyone would claim he's ready for the NBA. Probably 60% of players drafted aren't ready, but the NBA drafts on potential and he has that in spades. He's a top 10 pick and a good finish to the year (especially in the NCAA's) will make him a top 5pick.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on Feb 17, 2008 11:59 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Give him credit

OJ hustles back on defense, which is a huge plus, especially when the NBA is concerned. I guess the disappointment is that he was supposed to be the next LeBron James, instead he just a very good player with the potential for greatness who is going to leave for the NBA too early.

by Zoulou on Feb 18, 2008 8:58 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I think both are a fair assessment of Mayo

But you could say the same about Love. He has some tremendous talent but you bang him enough and you can take him off his game. I think without another year or two to really solidify his game he will have a hard time in the NBA at a squatty 6'8"/6'9", he's not big enough for a 4 or quick enough for a 3. Like I said earlier if he is getting his shots blocked by Taj and Davon now (who aren't true big men) then how is he going to handle the likes of a Stoudemire or Garnett in the NBA?

by Paragon SC on Feb 18, 2008 9:26 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

This game was very reminiscient of

UCLA's Elite Eight win over Memphis in '06. Both sides played very good defense, and both sides played very poor offense.

I wouldn't say this year's UCLA team is worse than last year's. I think Tim Floyd had a good plan for the first game, completely stopping Love and forcing others to take outside shots. As a result, Howland moved Love outside more often where he could be more effective.

Against normal gameplans, UCLA has not had to rely on his outside shooting. Having that extra ability has made UCLA better, not worse. While this team's defense is less consistent than in past years, the offense has been much more potent. So far in Pac-10 play UCLA has scored 80 points 5 times, compared to 4 times last season and 2 times the season before.

At its best, UCLA is better this year; at its worst, it was better last year.

by SuperBruinMan on Feb 18, 2008 12:50 AM PST reply actions 0 recs