It's going to be a great deal of basketball in the Galen Center (USC vs. Kansas) and Pauley Pavilion (UCLA vs.Texas).
I'm blogging all day, so drop in frequently!
PAULEY PAVILION
7:07 p.m.
I'm rewriting this entry because it was just lost after a power surge in Pauley that cost me five minutes of work.
Anyway, it's over here, following James' dunk of an Augustin missed drive with 8.3 seconds to go and Richard Mbah a Moute's missed 3 from the right wing at the buzzer. Longhorns, 63-61.
Quite a day for the Big 12, knocking off the Trojans and Bruins on their home floors.
Conner Atchley's 3-pointer to tie the score coming out of a timeout with 1:04 was huge for the Longhorns and a great call by Texas Coach Rick Barnes. Mbah a Moute could have put his team up with 23 seconds to go but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity.
Look for North Carolina to be the new No. 1 Monday in the polls, followed by Memphis, Kansas, Texas and (I suppose) the Bruins.
Late celebrity sightings: American Gangster (so to speak) Denzell Washington and for Bruin coach-turned ESPN talking head Steve Lavin. There you go!
6:39
TV timeout and the score is tied at 53 . . . the Bruins are much better offensively, this half. But James has kept the Longhorns close or tied or slightly ahead (that about covers it). He's helped his pro stock today.
6:32 p.m.
Bruins trail, 47-45 ...this is going to the wire . . .
6:15 p.m.
TV timeout, 15:40 to go, and Bruins have cut deficit to 39-35, with Luc Richard Mbah a Moute having the opportunity to wrap up a three-point play when play resumes. UCLA's defense much more energetic and the Bruins are converting in transition. It should be an interesting second half . . .
5:50 p.m.
It's halftime and the Longhorns are dominating things, 37-25. This is as well as I've seen a team play against UCLA, at both ends of the floor, in a while. The Bruins are really, really struggling to guard Texas. The Bruins have so much respect for the jump shooting ability of A.J. Abrams, D.J. Augustin and Justin Mason that they are pressuring them hard to the 3-point line. The Longhorns have reacted well, driving them hard for layups or quick passes to open shooters, and that has usually been forward Damion James (nine points in the first half). Offensively, the Bruins struggled to get good shots against Texas' 2-3 zone, which the Longhorns seem to play whenever Kevin Love is on the floor. This game is far from over yet bu the Bruins will need to play much better, at both ends of the floor, to regain control and win this thing.
5:40 p.m.
Well, the bleeding has stoppped a little. After trailing by 16 points (30-14) and missing 14 shots in a row, the Bruins have cut their deficit to 13 (34-21) with 2:35. Texas has slashed the Bruins' man to man as well as anyone has in a while.
5:26 p.m.
Timeout, UCLA. The Longhorns are up, 19-14, and playing very well. UCLA is struggling to guard them and TExas' defense (going from man to man to 2-3) has made the Bruins' offense stagnant.
5:15 p.m.
UCLA got off to a 10-4 but Texas has cut its deficit to 12-11. The Lnghorns, with the Bruins defense stretched because of their ability to jump shoot from range, have beaten them off the dribble three times already. There will have to be adjustments made.
5 p.m.
It's just a couple of minutes before tipoff of UCLA-Texas. I ate at Jerry's Deli, the most over-priced restaurant chain in history. But the food (chicken noodle soup, turkey sandwich, chocolate cake) was its usual excellent self. Lots of NBA personnel and high school players -- Mater Dei twins David and Travis Wear, Jordan Hamilton of Dominguez, among those sighted so far --- in the building. Should be a good one.!
GALEN CENTER
1:02 p.m.
It's over, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, courtesy the shot of the game a 3-pointer from the left wing by Mario Chalmers with 19.3 seconds to go while holding a two-point advantage. That's what we like to call in the trade "a gut-crunching shot". But USC showed a lot of grit in coming back after Kansas seemed to have things well in hand. The Trojans are going to be a very good team by February, if Mayo buys into Floyd's coaching and learns to value the concept of "good shot vs. bad shot". He took a bunch of the latter today.
On to Westwood Village and Jerry's Deli!
12:55 p.m.
Trojans are back in this thing, courtesy some big plays by Jefferson. It's time out with 53.9 seconds to go, and he's shooting two free throws with his team trailing, 55-51.
12:45 p.m.
TV timeout, USC shooting free throws with play resumes with 3:26 to go and Trojans trailing, 53-44. This has been Mayo's worst game in his very short college career. His shot selection has been awful and he gambles far too frequently, defensively. But he's also capable of making enough plays down the stretch to help USC pull this one. He just has to trust his teammates, and his team's half-court offense, more.
12:42 p.m.
Kansas called a 30-second timeout and is holding 51-44 advantage. The Jayhawks are just crushing the Trojans under the offensive boards. USC is in dire straits . . .
12:34 p.m.
Kansas' experience, poise and discipline are proving the difference. The Trojans are trying to do everything off the dribble.
12:20 p.m.
Timeout, 11:22 to play and USC trails, 42-40. The Trojans, with Mayo, Jefferson and Hackett, continue to force us some ill-advised attempts. Kansas is playing with more discipline, offensively. Mayo and Jefferson are showing their lack of experience in truly structured "real" basketball (non-summer stuff) settings. But they are oh-so-talented.
11:50 a.m.
OK, it's halftime and USC is up, 27-25, after a shot from the left corner by Jefferson that was called a 3 and then changed to a 2 after the officials looked at the monitor. It's a bit sloppy and there is some bad shot selection on the Trojans' part (mostly, Mayo, who is hunting a lot of shots against pretty good man-to-man pressure). Mayo and Jefferson have combined for 21 points. Don't bank on them being USC sophomores a year from now, if you catch my drift.
11:17 a.m.
OK, initial thoughts: USC is more talented than Kansas. The Jayhawks haven't been able to exploit the Trojans inside like I thought they could. Of course, as soon as I write that, 6-8 Arthur gets free inside for a layup. Mario Chalmers just fouled Mayo shooting (and missing) a 3-pointer. Not wise. TV timeout: USC 11, Kansas 6.
11:05 a.m.
Both teams are a bit sloppy. Both Jefferson and Mayo haved commited turnovers. In fact, Jefferson just turned it over again. He's trying to do too much off the dribble. THe crowd booed former Trojan Rodrick Stewart when he was introduced as a Kansas starter. Darn them!
10:50 a.m.
The place is packed with NBA scouts and lots of GMs and player personnel director-types
Among those I've tracked down so far: Mitch Kupchak (Lakers), Steve Kerr (Phoenix), Kevin O'Connor (Utah) and Elgin Baylor (Clippers). I'll bet there are 30 NBA employees here to check out the likes of Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush of Kansas and O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson of USC. And they're all headed to UCLA afterwards . . .
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