SoCal coming to Maples

USC and UCLA travel to the Bay Area for their most challenging conference weekend with games against the top two Pac-12 teams.

Both of the games at Maples will be televised, and the start times are not the usual 2:00/7:00. Be sure you have the correct times marked on your calendar:

The USC/Stanford game is on Thursday evening at 6:00, and the UCLA/Stanford game is on Saturday Sunday afternoon at 12:00.

The game against UCLA on Saturday Sunday is a Play 4Kay game. If you're coming, remember to wear pink to show your support for breast cancer awareness. The game is sponsored by the Stanford Women's Cancer Center. You can buy discounted tickets here – the promotional code is: Pink

  USC Trojans

It's impossible to predict how the Trojans will play. They've been winning the hard games and losing what should have been easy ones.

Since we last played them in December, they defeated Cal by 20 points, defeated Arizona State by 12 on the road, and snapped a four-game losing streak against UCLA.

But they've lost four of their last six games — to Oregon State, Colorado, Utah and Washington. They've slipped to sixth place in the Pac-12 standings, and their postseason hopes are dimming fast.

Their last two losses were decided at the free throw line. In the game against Utah, the Trojans and the Utes scored exactly the same number of points on field goals, but the Trojans got to the line six times and made six free throws, while the Utes got there 18 times and made 14. In the game against Washington, the Trojans scored ten more points than the Huskies on field goals, but the Trojans added just six on free throws, while the Huskies added 22.

Head coach Michael Cooper thinks that the disparity in free throw attempts is due to a disparity in physicality. He commented about his team's lack of a "killer instinct" and said that until they find it, he only expects more losses in the future.

So, who's coming to Maples — the Trojan warriors or the nice girls of Troy?

Here are USC's statistics and roster.

  UCLA Bruins

The Cardinal defeated the Bruins by 27 points on New Year's Eve, but that's not likely to be repeated this weekend. The Bruins have worked their way up to third place in the Pac-12 standings, just one game behind Cal, and are heading into the Bay Area on a four-game winning streak.

They've accomplished this with a very short bench. Freshman guard Moriah Faulk tore her ACL in January and joined Jasmine Dixon and Atonye Nyingifa in rehab. That leaves just eight healthy Bruins – one of them a walk-on freshman guard who plays very few minutes.

The Bruins' success is largely due to junior forward Markel Walker. She is fully recovered from thumb surgery and has really stepped up her game. Since January 1st she's averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds per game and made seven double-doubles.

In the game against Washington State last week, Walker recorded a triple-double, the first in the conference since 2004, with 14 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

I expect that the Bruins will seriously challenge the Golden Bears for second place in the Pac-12 and play a tough competitive game against the Cardinal.

Here are UCLA's statistics and roster.