USC BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK: WIN MEANS SECOND PLACE.Byline: MATTHEW KREDELL Staff Writer SPOKANE, Wash. -- Losing to Washington may be the best thing to happen to the Trojans. USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. (21-9, 11-6) lost to the Huskies 85-70 on Thursday, but the defeat had little impact on the Pacific-10 Conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members race. The No. 23 Trojans, who haven't lost consecutive games all season, can take second place by beating No. 13 Washington State today. "Everybody is down after a loss and we get motivated," USC guard Nick Young said. "We get our energies up heading into the next game." There's plenty for USC to be motivated about in this one. A victory would tie USC with Washington State for second in the conference, and the Trojans would hold the tiebreaker tie·break·er n. An additional contest or period of play designed to establish a winner among tied contestants. Also called tiebreak. tie based on their record against the Pac-10's better teams. A loss could drop USC to fourth place if Stanford beats Arizona. That could be the difference between a fifth seed and an eighth seed in the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
Second place would be a special accomplishment for USC, which finished last in the Pac-10 two years ago and was picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10 this season. "It would be a great start for where we want this program to go," said USC second-year coach Tim Floyd Tim Floyd (born February 25, 1954) is the current head coach of the University of Southern California men's college basketball team. Floyd is also a former head coach of several teams in both the NCAA and the NBA. . Washington State can relate. The Cougars finished in the conference cellar last year. USC blew an 11-point second-half lead in losing to Washington State at Galen Center History USC had planned to build an on-campus indoor arena for over 100 years. Before the Galen Center, USC basketball had been played at a variety of locations, including the neighboring Shrine Auditorium stage, the old Pan-Pacific Auditorium in the Fairfax District, and since earlier this season. The Trojans kept making mistakes, with missed free throws and defensive breakdowns ,while the Cougars methodically clawed back into the game. "That was a hard loss for me because of the way it ended and the charging foul on me," said Young, who was called for an offensive foul when USC had a chance to win the game in the final seconds. "We all feel it's payback for losing at home and the way we lost. We have to come out and play with more fire (today)." WSU WSU Washington State University WSU Wayne State University WSU Wichita State University WSU Wright State University WSU Weber State University WSU Western State University College of Law WSU Winona State University WSU Walter Sisulu University uses a slow-down style of play that has bothered the Trojans this year. It's also how last-place Arizona State beat USC, and Young called the Cougars "kind of like a better Arizona State team." matthew.kredell@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): box Box: No. 23 USC at No. 13 WASH. STATE - Matthew Kredell |
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