LOS ANGELES — In the three days since Tuesday’s loss to Arizona, the USC men’s basketball team has had a loose vibe around practice. No sense of panic, no overreaction from the No. 16 Trojans (25-5 overall, 14-5 Pac-12).
“We’re not getting hung up on losing one game,” forward Chevez Goodwin said. “If losing one game defined a season, well then, that’s kind of stupid.”
That’s a valid, forward-thinking mentality for a team with designs on a second straight deep NCAA Tournament run. But it does not take away from the importance of Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Trojans’ crosstown rivals, No. 17 UCLA (22-6, 14-5).
There are the practical implications for next week’s Pac-12 Tournament. The winner on Saturday will earn the slightly more favorable No. 2 seed while the loser drops to No. 3. Either way, there is a strong possibility of a Battle for L.A. rematch in the semifinals in Las Vegas.
But, after Tuesday’s loss to the Wildcats, a win over the Bruins would be big for USC’s momentum entering postseason play.
The Trojans have spoken all year about playing their best basketball when the games actually matter. That starts next week with the chance to earn the Pac-12 Tournament title and the league’s automatic bid to the 68-team NCAA Tournament, where the ultimate prize remains.
To be clear, USC will participate in March Madness no matter what happens in Vegas. Being No. 31 in the NET rankings and occupying a spot in the Associated Press’ Top 25 since the second week of the season are strong indicators USC will get to keep dancing even with a first-round exit from the conference tournament.
But deep postseason runs require playing your best basketball at the right time of the year. So USC would like to continue its trend of no losing streaks this season with a win over the Bruins to build momentum with another signature victory. And that requires shaking off the loss to Arizona quickly.
“We had to learn something from that game; I think they did,” head coach Andy Enfield said of his players. “And now we’ll go see how much we learned tomorrow and throughout next week.”
The Trojans enter the game riding a wave of confidence. They won last month’s first meeting with UCLA, 67-64, at the Galen Center, and did it without leading scorer Isaiah Mobley. The junior forward’s presence on Saturday will allow USC to play more of its style with two bigs on the floor instead of a four-guard lineup, which the Bruins typically employ.
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But USC has won five straight against the Bruins. In fact, no scholarship player on USC’s roster has lost to UCLA in their careers. For Goodwin and fellow graduating senior Isaiah White, Saturday will present them the opportunity to finish their careers undefeated against their rivals – barring, of course, a rematch in Vegas next week.
“You see the YouTube videos of the history UCLA and USC and it’s all like ‘UCLA, UCLA, UCLA, UCLA, UCLA, USC here, USC there,” Goodwin said. “But for me to come in here, me and Zay White, to get four wins off of ‘blue-blood’ royalty, you can’t ask for better than that.”
Here, Goodwin’s voice fell to a hush.
“I wish it was today.”
No. 16 USC (25-5, 14-5) at No. 17 UCLA (22-6, 14-5)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV/radio: ESPN / 790 AM