Matthew Kredell broke into the Daily News in 1998, working part time
at the paper while going to USC. The basketball team’s Elite Eight
run in 2000-01 was USC’s athletic highlight in his time at the
school, when the football team was stuck in the Paul Hackett-era.
After graduating in 2001, he started writing for the Daily News full
time. He’s in his second year covering USC, which coincides with the
rise of the program. He’ll take credit for the success, though Tim
Floyd may have more to do with it. A third-generation Los Angelean,
he grew up reading the Daily News while at El Camino Real High School
in Woodland Hills.
Washington game unimportant to Pac
A loss to Washington on Thursday would have no impact on USC's bid for second place in the Pacific-10 Conference. The Trojans will get second if Washington State loses to UCLA on Thursday and USC beats the Cougars on Saturday. Then, even with a Washington loss, the teams would be tied at 12-6 in conference play and would have split their series. The tiebreaker would be better record against the conference's top teams, and USC would win based on being 2-0 against Oregon.
However, a loss to the Huskies likely would impact USC's NCAA Tournament seeding, so the Trojans do have reason to play their hardest.
Comments
Okay, what if:
1) USC beats Washington
2) WSU beats UCLA
3) USC beats WSU?
The teams would again be tied at 12-6 with a split series. Does WSU get the tiebreaker somehow by beating UCLA? Otherwise, the Washington game would be important (if WSU beats UCLA).
MK edit: Yes, the second tiebreaker after head-to-head is record against top conference team. If WSU beats UCLA, it holds that tiebreaker.
Posted by: Floyd is my hero | February 28, 2007 6:42 PM
Looks like being ranked in the polls just doesn't sit well for sc. Reserve your flights to Buffalo or Winston-Salem come Tourney Time.
Posted by: Devin | March 1, 2007 9:54 PM