Pac-12 Tournament: The Day Two Rundown
By Daniel Tran
March 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans mascot and UCLA Bruins mascot perform during the first half in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 Conference tournament at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
(#4)UCLA Bruins crush the (#12)USC Trojans, 96-70
You had a good run, USC. You really did. You already exceeded all expectations by coming up back from a 14-point deficit late in the game against the Arizona State Sun Devils and advanced as a 12th seed in the Pac-12 Championship. I just wished it had ended in a better fashion than this.
After the hard fought win against Arizona State, USC could not come up with a similar effort against UCLA, who completely controlled the game from the get go. Elijah Stewart, who announced his arrival into the Pac-12 spotlight with a 27-point effort against the Sun Devils, was held to three for thirteen shooting and 12 points.
However, as was the case in most of their games this year, their defense, which ranked 10th in the Pac-12 conference, failed them. Despite their never die attitude, UCLA broke down USC consistently and buried the Trojans in a mountain of points.
Leading the way was Isaac Hamilton, who honored his recently deceased grandmother by shattering his career-high and scoring 36 points, shooting 76.5 percent from the field. Norman Powell also contributed with 14 points, including an array of awe-inspiring dunks that sent the MGM Garden Arena into a frenzy.
On the other end of the spectrum for the Bruins, Kevon Looney received an inadvertent, but painful elbow from Nikola Jovanovic, leaving the game with a swollen eye and cut comparable to a boxer mid-fight. He did not return to the game, rumored to be under concussion protocol and due to receive an MRI.
This is speculation at this point, but the MRI may be to confirm whether Looney received a facial fracture from the elbow. In either case, if Looney is unavailable against Arizona, the Bruins will have a hard time surviving the bubble and earning an NCAA Tournament berth.
While UCLA advances to face Arizona, USC is going back to Los Angeles, but there is a lot to like about the youth and athleticism of this team. Come next year with a healthy Jordan McLaughlin, the Trojans may be a scary team in the Pac-12 conference.
Next: Oregon vs. Colorado