UCLA and USC basketball rivalry reignited

There are numerous reasons but it began before the season actually started.

For over a decade, Andy Enfield was the head coach of the Trojans. Then, he leaves USC to take the SMU head coaching job in a somewhat surprising move. What was more puzzling was this quote,
“We were extremely happy at USC, and I had an incredible staff, players, great support from the administration, and we lived at the beach. So not bad at all.” Then why did he leave USC?

The Trojans turned to Eric Musselman, who was previously the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks from 2019-2024, to be their next head coach. Musselman is very familiar with the state of California, as he was the head coach of the Golden State Warriors from 2002-2004 and the Sacramento Kings for the 2006-2007 season. Before that, Musselman played at the University of San Diego, where he graduated. He and his family also lived in San Diego for a period of time, and after the passing of his father, his mother remained in San Diego. It has also been reported that part of the reason he took the USC job was to be closer to his mother.

UCLA also had some off-season drama as many fan-sport media outlets gained enough traction that mainstream media outlets began reporting that it was a real possibility that Mick Cronin would leave UCLA to take the Louisville head coaching job. It got to the point that we reported that he was not leaving, which drew the irritation of some Louisville fans.

Fast forward to this season, and you now have a rivalry led by Mick Cronin and Eric Musselman, who are not leaving their jobs anytime soon, with both having something to prove this season and both coaches being fierce competitors. They both want to defeat each other in this Crosstown rivalry, as both teams have been playing very well these past two weeks.

Then you have Kobe Johnson, who played three seasons at USC before transferring to UCLA for this season. This is not the first student-athlete to transfer from USC to UCLA, but the move was surprising. Nonetheless, in football, it is more common with Courtland Ford, Kyle Ford, and Bradley Schlom. In basketball, Johnson's transfer from USC to UCLA is very unique.

Johnson was not a disgruntled player at USC, as he was a two-time starter and captain for the Trojans. By all accounts, he was a fan favorite at USC, but now it is very likely he will not get a warm welcome back from the Trojans this upcoming Monday night.

There are other factors for the renewed optimism that this rivalry in basketball will be taken to a new level, as both schools are members of the Big Ten conference and getting more media coverage and having other fanbases, especially in the Midwest, pay more attention to when these two teams play. This should be a great game between these two teams on Monday night.

Matchup

Bruins

14-6

Trojans

12-7

Monday, Jan 277 PM PTFS1Galen Center