by: John Chase
There are 344 Division 1 Men’s Basketball teams in this nation. Keep this in mind when I read off the following stats. 341st in points per game (53.3). 343rd in rebounding (27.1). 337th in assists (9.5). 331st in field goal percentage (39.1%). That is where USC stands in the national picture.USC is a miserable 6-23 on the season and has barely avoided a shutout in conference play (1-15) by narrowly beating a nearly as terrible Utah team at home.
The only good thing USC has been able to do this season is play defense. Not the traditional in-your-face type of defense, but the mind-numbing slow down style of offense that makes me want to rip what little is left of Kevin O’Neil’s hair right out of his head.
To give you an idea on how slow this team plays I’ll read off another stat. The Trojans are 333rd in possessions per 40 minutes. The Huskies are 23rd. The Trojans will often give up rebounds on the offensive glass and free throws to run back into a prevent defense. This team does not play to win, heck they aren’t even playing not to lose, they are simply playing not to get decimated or injured anymore than has already happen.
I understand it. The team is down to just 6 scholarship players after 5 have suffered season-ending injuries. No one else wants to join that list and with over 20 losses on the record already, the motivation to try hard just isn’t there.
WSU is coming off a 22 point drubbing of Arizona State (a game in which ASU had only 8 points in the first half, but picked up 42 in the second), but will be without a key player in Faisal Aden. Aden has been the second leading scorer for the Cougars. The Cougars are 6-9 in Pac-12 play and are looking to scrap their way to a .500 conference record in their final three games. It will be senior night tomorrow and you can bet the Cougars will be looking for vengence after the comeback the Dawgs had in their last meeting.
While I am equally guilty of being caught up in the Jeremy Lin story, our very own Isaiah Thomas is having his own Cinderella season down in Sacramento.
On to Saturday’s game, it should be a instant classic. Both teams have had this one circled for months. Add in the fact that each need this to stay on par with Cal for the league title and you have a recipe for a very exciting game. The first look at the match up should have you thinking that UW has the upper hand. Arizona has not won in Seattle in five years and UW also just beat them down in Tucson earlier this season.
Here it is. The last home-stand of the season and the Huskies find themselves in a very precarious situation. The Dawgs are in a first place tie with California and are followed by a 3-way tie for second place, only a game back. The Huskies have a very small window in which they may claim an at large bid and the only way they will hold onto it is by winning at least 4 of the next 5 games and having moderate success in the Pac-12 Tournament. This all starts by taking care of business at home and thankfully, the Dawgs first face off against ASU.
With only 3 weeks and 5 games remaining for each team, the Pac-12 regular season title race has come down to five teams. Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona are each 9-4 while Washington and California are 10-3.
