UCLA is rolling and Southern California is sputtering as the Los Angeles rivals meet Saturday night on the USC campus in their regular-season finale.
The Bruins (20-10, 12-7 Big Ten) have won three of their past four games, including their most recent matchup with USC — an 81-62 home victory on Feb. 24.
Donovan Dent led UCLA with 30 points and eight assists in the decision, part of a six-game losing streak for the Trojans (18-12, 7-12). USC has seen its NCAA Tournament aspirations all but evaporate, with the team’s issues compounded by the departure of leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara.
Baker-Mazara came out of the 82-67 loss to then-No. 12 Nebraska on Feb. 28 after taking a hard fall, but sat just away from the bench among the audience. The following day, the university announced that Baker-Mazara, their top scorer at an average of 18.5 points per game, was no longer with the program and provided no elaboration.
The Los Angeles Times subsequently reported that Baker-Mazara was dismissed for “more than one” incident.
With him out of the lineup, USC fell 91-72 at Washington on Wednesday. Alijah Arenas’ 19 points and Ezra Ausar’s 17-point, 11-rebound double-double led the Trojans.
Much of the supporting cast in a rotation already dealing with a rash of injuries struggled, contributing to lulls that have plagued USC of late.
“We have to put 40 minutes together,” Trojans coach Eric Musselman said via USCTrojans.com. “We can’t play 20 minutes or 24 minutes.”
UCLA, meanwhile, scored its second top 10-ranked win in 11 days with a 72-52 blowout of No. 9 Nebraska on Wednesday. The Bruins previously topped then-No. 10 Illinois in an overtime thriller on Feb. 21, 95-94.
And while USC’s roster lost a member, UCLA has benefited from the return to form of Skyy Clark, who missed six weeks following a hamstring injury suffered on Jan. 3.
“It’s great,” said Trent Perry, who shares the backcourt with Clark and Dent. “You see how the ball is moving. Dribble drive, drive and kick, just creating gaps for driving lanes. Of course with Eric (Dailey Jr.) and Tyler (Bilodeau) stretching out the floor, it’s amazing.”
