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.
Player of the game
Taj Gibson, the freshman forward who struggled midseason after a hot start, had one of his better games with 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Gibson made sure the Razorbacks’ perceived advantage inside never materialized. After rarely outrebounding teams in Pac-10 play, USC held a shocking 39-26 edge on the boards.
``Coach said if we wanted to win this game, we needed to play defense and get as many rebounds as we can,'' Gibson said.
Down 14-6 to start the game, Gibson scored eight points during a 12-0 USC run.
Early in the second half, he came up behind Arkansas guard Gary Ervin to block consecutive shots.