How To Watch, Game Preview and Game Thread: Southern Cal Trojans at UCLA Bruins
Today's women's-men's hoops doubleheader continues when the Bruins host Southern Cal in the men's regular season finale.
As I write this, the UCLA women’s basketball team has a huge lead over the Ohio State Buckeyes in the semifinals of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, but because I’m heading to Pauley for tonight’s game, I don’t know the result of that game yet.
Soon, the doubleheader will continue with the UCLA men’s basketball team hosting the Southern Cal Trojans. UCLA is looking for their first season sweep of their crosstown rival since 2018.
Of course, the Bruins won their game against the Trojans at the Galen Center back in January, 82-76.
UCLA got all the help they needed to secure the #4 seed in the conference tournament. Now, they just need to beat Southern Cal tonight.
Due to Maryland’s win today over Northwestern, the Terps clinched the #3 seed. Had Maryland lost, it would have created a four-way tied with Maryland getting the three seed and Purdue getting the #4 seed based on Big Ten tiebreaker scenarios. Now, a Bruin win tonight should wrap up the fourth seed in the Big Ten Men’s Basketball tournament, according to what I’m reading in the tiebreaking scenario.
With a win tonight, UCLA, Purdue and Wisconsin will all finish tied in the conference standings with a 13-7 conference record. The head-to head records are all 1-1. That means that they move to the next tiebreaker which is each team’s record against the conference regular season champion, Michigan State. The Bruins are the only one of the three teams with a win over the Spartans while both the Boilermakers and the Badgers having lost to them. That would give UCLA the #4 seed and the coveted double bye.
Meanwhile, a loss by Southern Cal could drop the Trojans as low as the #15 seed, depending on the outcome of today’s other games. There is also a tiny chance that they could get left out completely if they lose tonight, depending on the outcomes from the rest of this weekend’s games.
So, both teams have an added incentive to play hard tonight.
Southern Cal Trojans’ Starting Five
The Trojans are only the third team that UCLA has played twice in conference play this season. The other two are the Bruins’ former Pac-12 foes Oregon and Washington.
Expect Eric Musselman to start a lineup tonight which is almost identical to the one he started against the Bruins at the end of January.
Desmond Claude is still leading the team in scoring, but his average has dipped from 16.3 ppg to 15.8. He has also slipped to second in assists with 122. He’s three assists behind Saint Thomas.
Chibuzo Agbo has improved to 12.2 ppg from 11.9 in January. His rebounding average has also slipped. Now, he’s grabbing 4.4 rpg, down from 4.9 per game. He is, however, leading the team in three pointers, having made 70 this season.
Wesley Yates is proving to be a guy to watch out for. His scoring average is up to 13.6 ppg, which is an increase of 2.6 ppg since the teams met in January. He’s also the Trojans’ second best three point threat. He’s made 45 threes and his three-point percentage is best among the starters.
While Yates has picked up his scoring, Saint Thomas has not. His scoring average is now just 9.4 ppg, down from 11.0. Thomas remains the team’s leading rebounder even though he has slipped a notch from 6.0 rpg in January to 5.9 rpg now.
The one lineup change looks to be at forward where Rashaun Agee will replace Josh Cohen. Agee is averaging 8.1 ppg and 4.0 rpg while Cohen has slipped from 7.7 ppg to 6.3 ppg. So, the move has generated more offense for the Trojans. While Agee’s increase seems to be the result of both improved shooting and increased playing time, Cohen’s still shooting 60.0% from the field, which is off from 62.2% from January. So, it looks like his decrease may be mostly due to him getting less playing time. Regardless, expect to see both guys tonight with one of the two getting the start as each guy has started five of the ten games Southern Cal has played since they hosted the Bruins.
Analysis
While both teams come into tonight’s game with a lot of incentive to win, it’s worth looking at how they compare to where they were in January.
Southern Cal has see its offensive production slip a little overall. They were averaging 77.1 ppg as a team before the first meeting and they enter today’s game averaging 76.7 ppg.
The more interesting difference in Southern Cal is their defense. They had been giving up an average of just 72.3 ppg and, now, they are allowing 74.5 ppg. That’s a difference of 2.2 ppg, which seems pretty big.
By comparison, UCLA’s offense has slipped a little from 75.6 ppg to 74.4 ppg. That’s a little more than their rivals, but not terrible. On the other hand, their defense has remained pretty consistent. They were giving up 64.5 ppg to their opponents and, now, they are giving up an average of 65.0 ppg.
Interestingly, UCLA’s defense may have actually gotten better since the last meeting. In Big Ten play, the Bruins have reduced the average number of points they are giving up. Against Big Ten opponents, they were giving up 72.9 ppg before they met in January and, now, they are allowing an average of just 69.5 ppg. Meanwhile, the Trojans were allowing an average of 76.8 ppg to Big Ten opponents in January and, now, they are allowing an average 77.7 ppg, almost a full point more.
Offensively, the Bruins have consistently averaged 72.0 ppg against Big Ten opponents. That’s what they were averaging before the game in January and it’s what they are averaging now as well. On the other hand, the Trojans have dipped a bit against conference opponents. They were averaging 77.0 ppg in January and are now averaging 76.7 ppg.
The Bruins should win tonight because they have played better throughout the season. Statistically, they seem to have gotten better defensively and, while they may have been a bit streaky at times, they continue to average the same offensively.
Of course, it’s more complicated than that. This is the Battle of LA. All bets are off.
Listen to the Game With TMB
Tonight’s game will be broadcast on Fox with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson on the call. Of course, you can opt to listen to Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray on the radio or online instead. To listen online, just right-click on the link below so that you can open up another tab and have it going while you chat in the comments below. Listen to tonight’s online.
This is your UCLA men’s basketball vs. Southern Cal Trojans game thread. Here’s how to watch, listen and stream tonight’s game:
UCLA Men’s Basketball (21-9, 12-7)
Opponent: Southern Cal Trojans (15-15, 7-12)
Series Record: UCLA leads, 110-44
When: 5:00 pm PT, Saturday, March 8, 2025
Where: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA
TV: Fox with Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Kristina Pink
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports app
Radio/Audio
Local Radio: AM 570 with Josh Lewin and Tracy Murray
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM Ch. 139 (UCLA feed)
Online: uclabruins.com
Live Stats: UCLA StatBroadcast
Game Notes:
UCLA
Go Bruins!!!
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This has been a very fun game to be at. Best energy of the season.
Dailey shot an impressive 77% today (80% from 3 !!)-- sweet!!!