Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

Wildcats out to avenge loss

The UA men's basketball team will be out to avenge its only Pacific 10 Conference loss of the season tonight when they host USC.

The teams tip-off at 8:37 p.m.at McKale Center.

Behind hot shooting and strong defense, the Trojans knocked off the Wildcats 80-72 in Los Angeles on Jan. 22. After the win, USC stood on top of the Pac-10 with a 5-0 record.

"Out there, we were out-hustled and they wanted it more than us," UA sophomore forward Michael Wright, who is averaging 14.6 points per game, said.

Since the victory against Arizona, however, things have gone downhill for USC.

Loser of its last three games and four of its last five, USC (13-9 overall, 6-4 in Pac-10) is struggling with injuries to two key players - sophomore forward Sam Clancy and senior forward Jarvis Turner.

Clancy was USC's leading scorer before breaking his right foot, averaging 17.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Turner was the team's top reserve.

Picking up the slack for USC has been junior forward Brian Scalabrine (17.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg), a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, given annually to nation's top player.

Scalabrine had 27 points against Arizona in the first game.

Junior guard Jeff Trepagnier leads the Pac-10 in steals, averaging 3.48 per game, and sophomore point guard Brandon Granville is leading the Pac-10 in assists with 8.14 per game. Granville 2.36 steals per game is good for second in the conference behind Trepagnier.

Sophomore forward David Bluthenthal, whose defense held Wright to three points and no field goals made, is third in the conference with eight rebounds per game.

He had 26 against Arizona in the earlier meeting.

"They're so athletic and also, their junk defense, how they play defense," Wright said.

"You just have to wait patiently with a kind of defense like that, move the ball around and wait for the open guards to come out."

UA head coach Lute Olson said Arizona will concentrate on not allowing USC to spread the floor and shoot the three-pointer.

Both Scalabrine and Bluthenthal have good range, dragging UA junior center Loren Woods and Wright out on the perimeter with them.

"At SC, I don't think it was a case of us not playing well, it was a case of SC shooting the lights out," Olson said. "I would think the key for them will be staying out of foul trouble, and one of the keys for us will be trying to get them into foul trouble."

The Wildcats aren't concentrating on getting revenge in this game, but instead defending their home court and continuing their quest for the Pac-10 championship.

"I hope we just take it as a game, not revenge, because when you look at it like that, it can get out of control," UA freshman guard Gilbert Arenas said. "If you can take it as another game, everything prevails."

Bryan Rosenbaum can be reached at Bryan.Rosenbaum@wildcat.arizona.edu.