March 14, 2011
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USC-VCU GAME — The No. 11 seed USC Trojans (19-14, 10-8) will face No. 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth (23-11, 12-6) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in one of the new First Four games on March 16 at 6:10 p.m. (PT) at the University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The winner of this game will advance to face No. 6 seed Georgetown (21-10, 10-8) on March 18 at 6:50 p.m. (PT) at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. USC has won six of its last eight games.
BREAKING DOWN THE RAMS — VCU is coming off a 70-65 loss to Old Dominion in the Colonial Athletic Conference finals on March 7. They advanced to the finals by defeating top seed George Mason 79-63 in the CAC semifinals on March 6. VCU has gone 3-5 in its last eight games. The Rams are led in scoring by senior forward Jamie Skeen (15.3), junior guard Bradford Burgess (14.0) and senior guard Bradon Rozzell (11.3). VCU averages 71.5 points per game and has forced 506 turnovers. This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
USC FALLS IN PAC-10 SEMIS — Despite finding out just hours before the game that its coach would be suspended for the remainder of the Pac-10 Tournament due to an off-court incident, USC provided No. 1 seed Arizona all it could handle before falling 67-62 in the Pac-10 Semifinals held at the Staples Center on March 11. Associate head coach Bob Cantu guided the Trojans back from a 12-point second-half deficit to within three points at 63-60 with 48 seconds left, but Arizona’s Derrick Williams sank all four of his free throw attempts down the stretch to hold off the Trojans. Williams shared game-high scoring honors with USC’s Marcus Simmons, who had a career-high 20 points and made a career-best three 3-pointers. Nikola Vucevic shook off a slow start to finish with 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 21st double-double of the season.
USC IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT — USC is making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and sixth time in the last 11 seasons and owns a 12-17 record all-time (one loss in 2008 later vacated due to NCAA penalty, revised record 12-16). USC last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and defeated Boston College in the first round (72-55), before falling to eventual runner-up Michigan State in the second round (74-69).
GEORGETOWN ON DECK — The Southwest No. 6 seed Georgetown awaits the winner of the USC-VCU game. After a first-round bye, the Hoyas lost in the second round of the Big East Tournament to UConn, 79-62, and have lost four straight. Senior guard Austin Freeman leads Georgetown in scoring with a 17.9 average. USC has never faced Georgetown.
USC VS. THE FIELD — USC played six teams in the 2011 NCAA Tournament Field and posted a 5-5 record (Arizona 1-2, Kansas 0-1, Tennessee 1-0, Texas 1-0, UCLA 1-1, Washington 1-1)
TROJANS TOPS IN DEFENSE — USC has held the opposition to 62.8 points per game, the fewest allowed per game among conference teams. USC also ranks second in the Pac-10 in field goal defense at 41.2 percent. USC is 13-0 when it holds the opponent to less than 60 points.
USC WEATHERING THE STORM — Despite 3 players leaving early to play professionally and virtually the entire recruiting class leaving before he could coach a game, USC head coach Kevin O’Neill has kept the Trojans highly competitive in 2010 and 2011. USC was in the thick of the 2010 Pac-10 title race until the final weeks of the season, despite taking a postseason ban. USC lost 4 of its Top 6 scorers from last year’s 16-win team and has had to overcome the cumulative loss of 12 players in a one-year span. USC was one scholarship down both last season and this, yet has gone a composite 35-28 in O’Neill’s first 63 games while playing one of the tougher schedules in the country, including posting a 5-4 record vs. ranked teams. O’Neill was able to bridge the gap that created a one-man sophomore scholarship class of Evan Smith (out all season due to injury) by bringing in transfers Jio Fontan this season and Aaron Fuller and Dewayne Dedmon next season. In addition, USC has a top 10-ranked 2011 recruiting class according to Hoopscooponline.com.
USC SEEKS 20TH — Kevin O’Neill has guided USC to a 19-14 record and nearing its 19th 20-win season in school history. USC has reached the 20-win plateau 6 times in the past 31 seasons.
BRING IT ON — USC’s 2010-11 schedule features 23 of 33 games against teams which finished the 2009-10 season with a record of .500 or better. Among the nonconference highlights were games against perennial national powers: at Kansas on Dec. 18 (L, 70-68), at Tennessee on Dec. 21 (W, 65-64) and a home game vs. Texas on Dec. 5 (W, 73-56). Of USC’s 31 regular season games, 21 of the opponents finished at .500 or better for a combined record of 538-410 (.567 winning percentage). Jeff Sagarin and CBSSportsline.com lists the Trojans’ schedule as the 42nd-hardest in the country.
AT THEIR BEST AGAINST THE BEST — With the win over No. 10 Arizona on Feb. 24, USC finished 3-2 vs. ranked opponents during the 2010-11 season. As of March 7, USC was also 5-4 vs. the top 50 teams in the current RPI rankings. USC was also one of only 17 teams in the Sagarin top 100 to have at least 2 wins and be .500 or better (2-2) vs. current top 25 teams. USC is also one of 19 teams in the country with at least two games played against Sagarin top 50 teams and owning an above .500 record (5-4) as of March 3.
PAC-10 PREDICTIONS — USC was picked to finish 6th in 2010-11 in the Pac-10 Conference in a vote by the league media. Washington was picked 1st, Arizona 2nd, UCLA 3rd, Arizona State 4th, Washington State 5th, California 7th, Oregon State 8th, Stanford 9th and Oregon 10th.
A HISTORY OF WINNING — USC has compiled a record of 1,494-1,070* in its 105 years of intercollegiate basketball competition. USC has had a .500 or better record in 76* of the 105 seasons.
TROJANS IN THE RANKINGS — USC is unranked in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll, the AP poll and the CBSSportsline poll. USC did receive one vote in the AP poll on Dec. 27, good for T-46th.
THE GALEN ADVANTAGE — USC is 12-4 in home games this season and is 63-19 in the first five seasons of the Galen Center’s existence.
USC ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW ATHLETIC BUILDING – - On Oct. 30, USC athletic director Pat Haden announced plans for a new 110,000-square foot building that will house meeting rooms, coaches offices and a locker room for the football program, as well as an academic center, weight room, athletic training room and state-of-the-art digital media production facility for all of USC’s 21 sports. It will be built directly west of Heritage Hall on the USC campus. Groundbreaking on the project was on Jan. 12 and construction will take about 18 months. The 2-story building will include a basement, and will feature a brick exterior that matches the architecture of most USC buildings. State-of-the-art technology will be included throughout the building. It will be located on the site of the current intramural field that is adjacent to Heritage Hall and the Galen Dining Center. That field will be relocated just south of its current spot, between this new building and Loker Track Stadium. Fundraising has begun for the $70 million project, which will include the cost of the building, a maintenance endowment, and renovation of vacated space in Heritage Hall.
PAC-10 RETURNS — USC had had to replace a large portion of scoring production from last season as they rank 9th in the conference in returning scoring at 42.8 percent.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN — There are 14 players on the 2010-11 USC roster, including four walk-ons (James Dunleavy, Daniel Munoz, Eric Strangis and Tyler Sugiyama) and one player (Aaron Fuller) who will not be eligible until the 2011-12 season due to transfer rules. The Trojan team by class: Sr. (4): Dunleavy (Rs. Jr.-eligibility), Donte Smith, Marcus Simmons, Alex Stepheson, Jr. (4): Jio Fontan, Nikola Vucevic, Fuller, Strangis, So. (3): Evan Smith, Daniel Munoz, Tyler Sugiyama (Rs. Fr.–eligibility), Fr. (3): Garrett Jackson, Maurice Jones, Curtis Washington.
INJURY UPDATES — Evan Smith had season-ending left shoulder surgery on Dec. 23.
THE FRESHMAN “MOJO” – Freshman point guard Maurice Jones, standing 5-7 and weighing 155 pounds, has been a tower of power for USC. He is tied for fourth on the team with an average of 9.9 points per game and second with 40 three-pointers made, fourth with 2.6 rebounds per game and leads USC with 110 assists and 69 steals. Jones was second in steals and is ninth in assists among Pac-10 players. Jones has scored in double-figures 15 times and has a Trojan game-high of 29 points on Nov. 15 vs. Santa Clara. He was USC’s primary ball-handler the first 10 games and shares the duties now with Jio Fontan and has just five games all season with more turnovers than assists. In his last 24 games, Jones has 75 assists and 40 turnovers, while making 52 steals. Jones posted a season high of 6 steals at ASU on Jan 27. Jones’ 69 steals are the most by a Trojan since Errick Craven had 73 steals during the 2003 season. Jones ended the regular season T-25th in the country and third among freshmen with an average of 2.1 steals per game. His 69 steals are a new USC freshman record and rank seventh all-time by a Pac-10 freshman. Arizona’s Gilbert Arenas ranks sixth all-time among Pac-10 freshmen in steals with 71 in the 2000 season. Jones also ranks on several other USC freshman top 10 lists: assists (5th, 110), 3-point baskets (6th, 40) and free throws made (8th, 66).
VUCEVIC NAMED TO ALL-PAC-10 FIRST TEAM – Junior forward Nikola Vucevic was named Pac-10 Most Improved Player for the 2010 season and continues to take his game to the next level in 2011, this season being named to the Pac-10 First Team and to the FOXSports.com All-America Fourth Team. Through the first 33 games, Vucevic leads USC with 17.3 points and 10.2 rebounds while attempting to become the first Trojan to average a double-double since Jaha Wilson averaged 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds during the 1994-95 season. Vucevic leads the conference in total rebounds (336) and defensive rebounds (240), ranks second in minutes per game (34.8), is fourth in blocked shots (45) and third in scoring (17.3 ppg). Vucevic has demonstrated an all-around game for USC, leading the team in points, blocks and rebounds, ranking second in free throw percentage (.752), third in assists (54) and ranking third in three-pointers made (29). Vucevic has had 13 20-point games and 21 double-doubles this season. He has averaged 19.2 points and 10.5 rebounds in the last 13 games (250 points/136 rebounds). Vucevic in the only player in the Pac-10 to rank in the top three in both points and rebounds per game. He was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for Feb. 21-27 as he led the Trojans to wins over then-No. 10 Arizona and ASU. Vucevic averaged 22.5 points and 11.0 rebounds in the two games.
SIMMONS NAMED PAC-10 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Senior guard Marcus Simmons was named the 2011 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. He has frequently been called upon in his career to guard the opponent’s top scorer, holding most below their season average. On Dec. 5 vs. No. 19 Texas he guarded Texas’ Jordan Hamilton, averaging 21.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Simmons held Hamilton to 12 points on 4-for-13 shooting and limited him to four rebounds. On Dec. 11 vs. NAU, he covered Cameron Jones who was coming off a 27-point performance and averaged 20.0 points this season, 23rd in the country. Simmons held Jones to 10 points on 4 of 14 shooting. He was also matched up against Tennessee’s top scorer Scotty Hopson on Dec. 21 and was part of the reason he was held to just eight points. On Dec. 23 vs. Lehigh, Simmons was matched up against C.J. McCollum who averaged 21.8 points this season (9th in the country) and helped hold him to seven points. On Dec. 31 vs. WSU, was matched on the Pac-10′s leading scorer Klay Thompson who finished with 17 points, but made only 6 of 18 shots. Simmons has started USC’s first 33 games and averaged 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds. He matched a season and career high with eight rebounds vs. Stanford on Jan. 20. Simmons scored a career-high 20 points in the Pac-10 semifinals vs. Arizona on March 11.
DONTE’S INFERNO — Senior guard Donte Smith torched the nets by making 8 of 12 three-point attempts and finishing with a career-high 24 points, 12 straight in the second half (4 consecutive 3-pointers), on Jan. 22 vs. California. The 8 three-pointers made were the second-most in school history. Anthony Pendleton holds the school record with 9 three-point baskets on Dec. 9, 1987. Smith has made at least one shot from beyond the arc in all but four games this season and ranks 4th in the Pac-10 with 73 long-range makes. Smith now has 105 three-point baskets in his Trojan career, tied for 16th on USC’s all-time list with Rodney Chatman. Against NAU on Dec. 11, Smith scored 14 consecutive points for USC in the second half of the victory after the Lumberjacks had cut the lead to three points. In Smith’s second-half barrage were four three-pointers and a layup which put the game away. Smith scored a then career-high 22 points in the game and made a then career-best five three-pointers. He followed that up with 20 points in 20 minutes at Kansas on Dec. 18, also making five three-pointers and hitting six of eight shots overall. He was held to six points at Tennessee, but hit a big three-pointer at the end of the game. Smith began the season coming off the bench and has started the last 8 games and is averaging 9.9 points for USC, T-4th-best on the team. He leads the team lead with 73 three-pointers made and leads the team with a 84.8 percent success rate from the free throw line. His pair of free throws with 10 seconds left clinched USC’s 60-56 win vs. WSU on Dec. 31. His 73 three-pointers rank tied for seventh-best in a single season by a Trojan.
STEPHESON SHOWS TWO HANDS BETTER THAN ONE — Senior Alex Stepheson scored six points, had three blocks and grabbed 13 rebounds in the season opener vs. UC Irvine on Nov. 13, but also suffered a fracture in his left hand. From that point until the game vs. UCLA on Jan. 9, he wore brace during games and for a time a cast between games. In his first game having the use of both hands on Jan. 9, Stepheson had 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and followed that up with 9 points and 8 rebounds at Oregon on Jan. 13. He really adapted after the first five games of the season and has averaged 10.8 points (301 total) and 9.8 rebounds (273 total) in the last 28 games, with 11 double-doubles. Stepheson has had at least 8 rebounds in 23 of the last 28 games. Stepheson ranks second in rebounds per game (9.2), sixth in blocks (35), ninth in minutes per game (32.8) and sixth in field goal percentage (.560) among Pac-10 players. Stepheson scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Bay Area sweep of Cal and Stanford. He then had 27 points and 20 rebounds in the home sweep of the Arizona schools. USC is 11-1 in games Stepheson has a double-double and 13-2 in games he has double-digits in rebounds.
THE FONTAN FACTOR — After sitting out nearly a season and a half following his transfer to USC from Fordham, guard Jio Fontan hasn’t missed a beat, averaging 10.4 points, 4.0 assists in his first 23 games. During the 23 games, he leads the team in assists (92), is third in points per game (10.4), tied for third in three-pointers made (21), fourth in minutes (721) and is fourth in steals (16). Fontan was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for the Week of Dec. 20-26 when he averaged 17.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals in USC’s wins vs. Tennessee and Lehigh. Fontan had to sit out the first 10 games of this season due to transfer rules and without its court leader, USC lost to Rider, vs. Bradley (1 point), at Nebraska (2 points) and at TCU.
DRIVEN BY DEFENSE — USC has held 86 teams to 60 points or less in the last six seasons (196 games), including 15 this season. The Trojans have held 16 teams this season (14-2) to 40 percent or less shooting from the field, 17 last season (13-4) and have held 102 teams (82-20) under 40 percent shooting in the last six seasons. USC held Stanford to 22.2 percent shooting on Jan. 20, the lowest percentage by a Trojan opponent in at least the last 30 seasons. USC held its opponents in the 2009-10 season to a 38.4 shooting percentage, best in the Pac-10. USC currently ranks second in the Pac-10 by holding the opposition to a 41.2 percent from the floor.
TROJANS BOAST TOP TANDEM – Forwards Nikola Vucevic and Alex Stepheson have teamed up to give the Trojans a strong presence in the paint, both offensively and defensively. Vucevic leads the Pac-10 and is 5th in the country with 21 double-doubles, while Stepheson is third in the conference with 12 double-doubles. The tandem also ranks No. 1 and No. 2 in the Pac-10 in rebounding with Vucevic grabbing 10.2 and Stepheson 9.2 rebounds per game. Through games of March 7, Vucevic (16th) and Stepheson (46th) were the only pair of teammates in the country in the top 50 in rebounding.
USC NEARLY UNBEATABLE… — …when holding the opposition to under 40 percent shooting from the field. USC is 14-1 this season when the opposition shoots under 40 percent (only loss at Kansas – .389). California made 42.6 percent of its shots in USC’s win on March 10, just the fifth time this season the Trojans have won when allowing 40 percent or more shooting by the opposition (5-13).
IT’S SIMPLE REALLY… – USC is 17-3 when posting a better shooting percentage than the opposition and 15-4 when getting more or as many rebounds.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES – USC is 5-7 in games played on Saturday and 1-3 in Wednesday games. The Trojans are a combined 13-4 in games played on other days of the week.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AWAY FROM HOME — Eleven of the 17 games USC played on the road or neutral site this season have been decided by 8 points or less (L, by 1 vs. Bradley, L by 2 at Neb., L by 2 at Kansas, W by 1 at Tennessee, L by 6 at Oregon, L by 4 at Oregon State, W by 2 at ASU, W by 3 at California, L by 8 at Washington State, W by 2 at Washington, L by 5 vs. Arizona).
THE LONG-RANGE CHANGE — After making just 107 three-pointers last season, last in the conference by a significant margin, the Trojans have already made 203 shots from beyond the arc and rank tied for sixth in that category. Donte Smith leads the way with 73 (4th in the conference and 30 more than last year’s Trojan leader Dwight Lewis – 43), followed by Maurice Jones with 40 and Nikola Vucevic with 29. As a team, USC had made 35.7 percent of its three-point shots, fourth in the conference. USC hit just 29.7 percent from long-range last season.
JACKSON MAKING HIS SHOTS COUNT – Freshman forward Garrett Jackson suffered a fractured nose in preseason practice and eventually had it reset. As a result, Jackson began his college career behind a mask, wearing protective gear until the game at Nebraska on Nov. 27. With the mask removed, Jackson went 3-for-3 from the field and scored seven points in nine minutes. It wasn’t really a big change for the freshman, who after adjusting to the college game and shooting with a mask on, has been one of the Trojans’ top shooters. In his first 32 collegiate games, Jackson has hit 55.6 percent of his shots from the field (45-for-81). He also has hit 9 of 20 three-point attempts (45.0 percent).
SOPHOMORE CLASS HAS SURGERY — Evan Smith, the Trojans’ only sophomore scholarship player, had surgery to repair his left glenoid labrum on Dec. 23 and will miss the entire season. Dr. Thomas Vangsness performed the surgery at USC Hospital. Smith has been sidelined with the injury since early in the preseason practice schedule, but is expected to make a full recovery in time for the 2011-12 season. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8 games for USC in 2009-10. Smith was USC’s only remaining recruit from the 2009-10 class.
MINER INDUCTED INTO PAC-10 HALL OF FAME – USC’s all-time leading scorer Harold Miner was inducted into the Pac-10 Hall of Honor on March 12, during the 2011 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament. Miner completed his three-year Trojan career atop USC’s all-time scoring list with 2,048 points, becoming just the second conference player to score 2,000 points in three seasons. Miner was a three-time All-Pac-10 honoree and his senior season of 1992 earned him the Sports Illustrated College Basketball Player of the Year award and selection as a consensus All-American.
* 21 wins and 1 loss in 2007-08 later vacated due to NCAA penalty (revised all-time record 1,473-1,069; USC now 74 seasons .500 or better
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