Latest news with #USC-UCLA
NBC Sports
05-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Big Ten Tournament stage appears for another round between No. 2 USC and No. 4 UCLA
INDIANAPOLIS — The final regular season weekend gave women's basketball fans a potential preview of the Big Ten Tournament. Southern California dominated crosstown rival UCLA, completing a season sweep of the Bruins to win the league title. Maryland, meanwhile, got a 3-pointer with 1 second left to beat Ohio State. The result: Each of this week's top four seeds is ranked in the top 15, each has a double bye into the quarterfinal round, and each has something to prove in Indianapolis. 'A hundred percent. Absolutely, yes,' UCLA coach Cori Close said when asked if she would like a rematch. 'If you're a competitor, yes, bring it on. If we don't, there's something bigger wrong. If there's anyone in our locker room (who) would answer differently, don't come back.' The fourth-ranked Bruins (27-2) have been flawless against everyone this season — except No. 2 USC, which earned its highest ranking in 39 years thanks largely to JuJu Watkins' stellar play, including two big games against UCLA. As a result, the Trojans knocked UCLA out of the No. 1 ranking in mid-February and out of the No. 2 spot most recently. And there's no doubt Watkins & Co. think they can ruin the Burins' next dream — winning the tournament. But coach Lindsay Gottlieb doesn't want her team thinking about the title game yet. 'You've got to be ready on that first day because another team has played,' she said. 'Usually, the byes help you later in the tournament. We've got to be ready to go, but I think we will (be).' No. 13 Ohio State and No. 15 Maryland certainly understand Gottlieb's caution. Over the past decade, one of those two schools has played for a Big Ten crown eight times while winning a combined six titles. Iowa won the other four, the last three with Caitlin Clark in the starring role. But with Clark now in the WNBA, Ohio State and Maryland are seeded third and fourth as they try to make a stand for the Big Ten's old guard. 'We've played pretty well the last three games against really good competition, and I think we're in a good spot,' Buckeyes coach Kevin McGuff said following a road loss. 'But we've got to take that same competitive character into next weekend.' The warmup USC and UCLA both finished their earlier Indiana swings with identical 2-0 marks, winning games at two of college basketball's iconic arenas — Assembly Hall in Bloomington and Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. The Bruins even took a couple of hours to watch an Indiana Pacers game at the same venue they'll play in. But their return trip is, thankfully, unlikely to be like their first visits. UCLA's two games were sandwiched around central Indiana's most severe snowstorm of the season, while USC was around for one of the coldest snaps of the winter. High temperatures are expected to be in the 40s most of this week, with lows in the 30s. Westward bound The women's tournament will be the league's 12th postseason championship of the 2024-25 season, and if there is a third round of USC-UCLA, it will give the four first-year Big Ten teams a sixth such championship. Oregon swept the men's and women's indoor track and field titles in Indy and also won the football title by beating Penn State just a short walk away from Gainbridge. The eighth-seeded Ducks (19-10) open play against ninth-seeded Indiana (18-11), and 12th-seeded Washington (18-12) faces 11th-seeded Minnesota (20-10). USC plays the first game against the Oregon-Indiana winner while UCLA opens play against seventh-seeded Illinois (21-8), 10th-seeded Nebraska (19-10) or 15th-seeded Rutgers (11-18). Missing out For the first time, every Big Ten team will not be playing in the tourney. The bottom three teams in the new 18-team league did not qualify. Who's out? Penn State (10-19, 1-17), Northwestern (9-18, 2-16) and Purdue (10-19, 3-15), which lost the tiebreaker with Rutgers based on a loss in this season's only meeting. While six of the Big Ten regulars, including Northwestern, have never won the tourney title, not having Penn State and Purdue is odd. The Nittany Lions won the first two league tourney titles while the Boilermakers own a league record nine tourney crowns. Schedule talk Defending champ Iowa (20-9), the No. 11 seed, will face 14th-seeded Wisconsin (13-16). The winner advances to play sixth-seeded Michigan State (21-8) with the winner facing Ohio State. The Minnesota-Washington winner will face fifth-seeded Michigan (20-9) for a chance to take on Maryland. People watching Former UCLA star Reggie Miller and his sister, Cheryl, who led the Trojans to two national championships in the 1980s, attended the game in Los Angeles, and Reggie Miller occasionally has come back to his NBA stomping grounds, Indiana, to watch games. Who else could be around? Clark, who won the tourney's last three Most Outstanding Player awards. She now calls Indy home, too, since she's playing for the Indiana Fever. Iowa retired Clark's No. 22 jersey earlier this season.
New York Times
28-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How to watch Clippers at Lakers with Luka Doncic, LeBron James hosting Kawhi Leonard, James Harden
A night before a top-five USC-UCLA clash on the west side, the Clippers and Lakers stage their latest Battle of Los Angeles downtown on national TV. The four stars on Friday's marquee — Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, LeBron James and Luka Dončić — combine for five MVPs, six rings and 38 All-NBA campaigns. Both teams are firmly entrenched in the Western Conference playoff scramble, albeit with different postseason ceilings. Advertisement If each team were up for an Oscar on Sunday night… Best International Feature: Ivica Zubac's career year. The old-school Bosnian big man has charmingly muscled his way to the best run of his nine NBA seasons. It's always fun to see a veteran player commit to steady improvement, especially in less-glamorous departments like post passing, paint defense and boxing out. Zubac is averaging more than 15 points and 12 rebounds, anchoring a Clippers defense that's fourth in scoring against. Best Casting: Rob Pelinka. Yeah, landing a 25-year-old Luka Dončić to play the 'Lakers' next generational global superstar' role was a good move. Dončić's glares toward Nico Harrison and the Mavericks bench should qualify him for SAG-AFTRA status. Since the All-Star break, LAC: Ty Lue and the Clippers are 1-3, and now have to deal with the retooled Warriors and the streaking Timberwolves on their heels. They're 18th in offensive rating and 23rd in defensive rating in that stretch. Leonard had four swipes and scored 17 points in Wednesday's defeat of the Bulls. Since the All-Star break, LAL: JJ Redick's Lakers are 3-1, with that bizarre three-point home loss to the Hornets marring otherwise spectacular vibes. They're first in defensive rating in those four games but just 20th in offensive rating. Basketball is so weird. James was 11-for-17 in Tuesday's win over the Mavs, while Dončić messed around and had a revenge triple-double. Starting five of players to wear both jerseys (min. 50 games with each franchise): Kobe Bryant famously considered joining the crosstown Clips in 2004, but ultimately returned to the Lake Show on a seven-year max contract extension, signed one day after Shaquille O'Neal was dealt to the Heat. (Photo of LeBron James: Keith Birmingham / Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
USA Today
13-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Lindsay Gottlieb wants more attention on USC-UCLA showdown
Lindsay Gottlieb wants more attention on USC-UCLA showdown On Thursday night, USC and UCLA will square off in one of the most-anticipated women's basketball matchups of the season. The Bruins are undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country, while the Trojans are currently No. 6 and second in the conference, behind only their crosstown foes. Naturally, the showdown has been drawing a lot of hype. In an interview Tuesday, USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb embraced the spotlight that has come upon women's basketball in Los Angeles. "I think there's a lot of reasons it's happened," Gottlieb said. "My question is – it's almost surprising, why didn't it happen sooner? Like, where's College GameDay? They should be out here this week.' ESPN's basketball version of College GameDay typically only airs on Saturdays. Given the massive nature of the USC-UCLA matchup, though, it is understandable why Gottlieb would want them to make an exception for the showdown. In addition, the game will not air on cable television, but rather exclusive on Peacock. Putting a matchup as big as this one exclusively on a streaming service is certainly not ideal for fans, as many will not be able to watch the game as a result. Regardless of the television situation, however, there will still be a massive spotlight on the Trojans and the Bruins Thursday night. Galen Center figures to be the loudest it has been in a long time for the latest edition of the Crosstown Showdown.
