Postgame Talk: UCLA Treats Southern Cal Like a Non-Conference Cupcake in 89-68 Victory

Donovan Dent led the Bruins to another romp over their crosstown rivals.

Donovan Dent (Photo credit: @UCLAMBB)

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I’m sure for some folks there was some intrigue as to what would happen in UCLA’s regular-season capstone game against Southern Cal. After all, this was technically a road game for a team that has struggled to play competent basketball away from Pauley Pavilion, and this was a rivalry game against a team with nothing to play for except pride.

Those folks are fools.

I don’t think there are many universes in the multiverse where the UCLA Bruins were in danger of losing to Southern Cal on Saturday, especially in the universe where we live. The Trojans are an absolute mess of a program, led by a clown in Eric Musselman, and coming off the dismissal of their best player for being a headcase, it only felt like a matter of time before the Bruins would pull away and turn the game into a laugher. Sure enough, the first moment where Southern Cal experienced any sort of struggle on the defensive end, they folded like a cheap table, as the Bruins used a 9-0 run over three minutes late in the first half to extend their lead to double-digits, which was all they would need to turn this game into an 89-68 laugher.

The Bruins only needed a small burst of defense in this game, largely because their offense was so good. By the end of the game, the Bruins were down to only 57.6% shooting from the field, but they spent the vast majority of the game sitting above 60%. The Trojans only offered token resistance to the UCLA offensive attack, looking out of sync defensively and continually giving UCLA easy looks at the basket. The best three-point shooting team in the conference was great from the outside, shooting 9-17 (52.9%) from deep, but also abused Southern Cal on the interior, scoring 34 points in the paint.

Donovan Dent, in particular, was sensational, using the Trojans to write his college thesis en route to a game-high 25 points on 11-15 shooting. Dent did most of his damage around the rim, hitting eight layups as the Trojans were repeatedly unable to to keep in front of him. Dent also led the team with seven assists, and as has become the norm of late, he had no turnovers, playing some mistake-free basketball. Dent has seemingly saved his best basketball of the season for the Crosstown Rivalry, which I do appreciate as a hater, but given that those games came late in the season, it feels like a good sign as the team prepares for the postseason.

The rest of the team weren’t slouches, either. The first half belonged to Tyler Bilodeau, who scored 16 points on 7-10 shooting. For some reason, the Trojans decided to keep leaving him open, and Bilodeau was more than happy to make them pay. In a similar way, Eric Dailey owned the second half, scoring 18 of his 19 points in the half, shooting 7-13 from the field and, more encouragingly, hitting two of his four three-point attempts. Those two and Dent were so good that the Bruins did not need much from Trent Perry (eight points on 2-6 shooting) or anything at all from Skyy Clark, who missed all five of his shots and finished with zero points.

Off the bench, the story of the game was again Eric Freeny. Freeny was not the first off the bench, as Cronin turned to Jamar Brown first to see if he could get the senior sharpshooter going, but once Freeny came into the game, UCLA was able to start pulling away. Freeny’s physicality was again a problem for an opponent, and the defensive burst that put the game away once again occurred with Freeny on the court. But maybe more impressive were his offensive contributions, as Freeny finished with 10 points on 4-6 shooting, including hitting two of his three attempts from distance. His five rebounds were also third on the team behind Dailey and Bilodeau, who each had eight. Freeny is turning into something of a weapon off the bench at the best possible time, and his emergence continues to raise the ceiling on what this team can do.

I don’t have much more to add to a game that was, essentially, a laugher for the entire second half, except to point out this: UCLA fans tend to believe that beating Southern Cal in basketball is their birthright, but no one seems to believe that more than Southern Cal head coach Eric Musselman. Musselman’s Trojans have lost all four games they’ve played against the Bruins by an average of 18.25 points, which really highlights just how full of shit alleged felon Gilbert Arenas was when he stated that Musselman was a better developer of talent than Cronin. Here’s to hoping Musselman manages to continue conning the Southern Cal fanbase and keeps his job as long as possible, because that team is not winning a single thing with him in charge.

(Oh hey, and because UCLA decided to blow out the Trojans, it allowed them to jump up to #28 in KenPom. Suddenly, a 7 seed in the NCAA Tourney doesn’t look that crazy.)

Anyway, with the win, UCLA locked up a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, and they look to be on a collision course with the Minnesota team that beat them a few weeks ago. A win there would give them a second matchup with the Nebraska team they beat by 20 points this week, which sets up well for the Bruins to pick up some solid wins and continue raising their profile before the NCAA Tournament starts.

Not to give everyone a dose of hopium, but the Bruins do seem to be peaking at the right time. Maybe they’ll find another gear and live up to some of those preseason expectations after all.

Go Bruins!

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