Pac 10 Rivalry Game of the Week with a Look at the Rest of the Pac 10

WEDNESDAY: Rivalry Game of the week

USC 15-6 (Road: 2-3) vs. (15) UCLA 17-4 (Home: 11-1)

Look for UCLA to continue to stretch the court firing up three point shots off screens to big men and the guards alike. USC played a triangle-two defense against the Washington State Cougars limiting the attempts from the perimeter while trying to contain the big man Aron Baynes when USC beat the the Washington State Cougars in Pullman earlier this month. UCLA lacks the dominant inside game to warrant this attention so look for a different zone look Wednesday night that will try to hold strong shooters like Josh Shipp and company in check. UCLA has been explosive at times during games this season hitting a flurry of threes and pushing the ball in the transition game. At the same time UCLA has shown dry spells that have left them vulnerable in the later part of games. UCLA has now seen two early losses to Arizona St. and Washington (both lead by a strong group of upper-classmen).

USC probably won’t have an easy night either. Granted they have a good record thus far and have a relatively good distributions as far as scoring they still need to see improvement on shots from the floor. The Trojans are fully capable of winning this game. They are currently one game ahead of Arizona St. in conference standings. USC convincingly beat ASU (USC W 61-49) mid January. You can look at this game in many ways. USC beat Arizona St. who beat UCLA in overtime in January so of course anything is possible. The fact is the USC Trojans have been just as hot and cold as the UCLA Bruins this season. The clearest example was losing in the Gill Coliseum to the OSU Beavers who didn't win a single conference game all season.

Not to sound to cliche but he who makes the least mistakes (turnovers, arrant shots, etc) will win this game. It should be a grudge match as soon as the ball tips off.

Players to Watch

UCLA 2 Darren Collison

Collison leads the team in scoring (14.6), assists (5.2), and steals (1.7). The man is unconscious from the line (94%).

USC 21 Dwight Lewis

Lewis returned missing both Washington Schools with a sprained ankle but should provide the scoring (Team leader with 15.2 points per game) the Trojans need to keep this game close.

Last Meeting: Sun, Jan 11 USC L 60-64 to the then #10 UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles , CA

Tom's Take: UCLA W 69-63

This week in the Pacific 10 Conference

THURSDAY

Arizona 14-8 (Road: 0-6) vs. Oregon St. 10-10 (Home: 7-5)

(24) Arizona St. 16-5 (Road: 4-2) vs.Oregon 6-15 (Home: 4-6)

Washington St. 12-9 (Road: 4-2) vs. Stanford 13-6 (Home: 10-2)

(22) Washington 16-5 (Road: 4-2) vs. California 16-6 (Home: 12-1)

SATURDAY

Notre Dame 12-8 (Road: 2-4) vs. (15) UCLA 17-4 (Home: 11-1)

Arizona 14-8 (Road: 0-6) vs. Oregon 6-15 (Home: 4-6)

(24) Arizona St. 16-5 (Road: 4-2) vs. Oregon St. 10-10 (Home: 7-5)

Washington St. 12-9 (Road: 4-2) vs. California 16-6 (Home: 12-1)

Schedules Provided at Rivals.com

-Tom Brooks 2k9 it's time to shine!