UCLA Vs USC: The Basketball Battle Has Changed
UCLA has owned the Crosstown Rivalry in basketball the last several seasons, but this year USC has upped their game which could spell trouble for the Bruins.
Just over two years ago, newly hired USC Basketball Head Coach Andy Enfield fired the first shot against his new rival UCLA, sparking what many hoped would be a renewed rivalry between the city foes.
“We play up-tempo basketball here, if you want to play slow, go to UCLA.”, stated Enfield. Clearly, Enfield did not heed Ice Cube‘s advice because he didn’t check himself, and thusly he wrecked himself.
Actually, it was UCLA that wrecked USC. The Bruins, behind first-year UCLA Basketball Head Coach Steve Alford, annihilated the Trojans 107-73 in their first meeting of the season.
UCLA Bruins
Since that game, UCLA has gone undefeated against USC. Apparently playing fast is not the only way to win games.
Enfield was hired from Florida Gulf Coast University to re-energize the USC Basketball program with his “Dunk City” style of ball, yet he didn’t have those pieces in his first year at USC.
FGCU were the darlings of the 2013 NCAA Tournament with their up-tempo style. Flashy, quick and fun to watch. Enfield’s style of play made the Eagles the first ever #15 seed to win two games and get to the Sweet 16 (thigh that is where they lost to Florida).
This type of basketball appealed to USC as they has been an afterthought in the Pac-12 in recent years, and after two tough seasons, Enfield has put that in the past.
Despite Enfield having trouble getting things going in his first two years, things seem to finally be going his way.
USC was able to claim the #30 2015 recruiting class and going forward, they currently have the #36 recruiting class for 2016. In regards to this part the program, USC has rapidly added talent and depth to their roster.
As far as the program itself, Enfield seems to have his foundation in place with key veterans like Jordan McLaughlin, Nikola Jovanovic and Julian Jacobs. What that has translated to this season is a 14-3, 3-1 record, which was recently highlighted with a 4OT 103-101 victory over #7 Arizona.
Long story short, the Trojans are for real. At the very least, they are a much improved team that is going to battle for the Pac-12 this year. Because of that, the Crosstown Showdown has changed.
Despite UCLA having a reemergence of their own this season, the Bruins have their own issues. Despite beating three Top 25 teams, UCLA has inexplicably lost a few games that they should have won, so it will be interesting to see how these two teams match-up.
Next: The UCLA Basketball All-Time Team
So starting tomorrow, we will see how the city basketball battle has changed when USC travels to Pauley Pavilion. Though the Bruins have the home court advantage, they by no means should take this Trojan team lightly or Bruin fans will be hearing that dreaded chant from USC fans… “Just like football.”
Hopefully the Bruins pull out the win to make it not like football.