Tags
basketball, Big Dance, Big West Conference, college basketball, Crosstown Rivalry, Exposition Park, Firestone Fieldhouse, Galen Center, Gersten Pavilion, Irvine, Long Beach, Long Beach State, Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount Lions, Malibu, NCAA Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Pac-12 Conference, Pauley Pavilion, PCH Cup, Pepperdine Waves, Riverside, Santa Barbara, UC Irvine Anteaters, UC Riverside Highlanders, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, West Coast Conference, Westchester, Westwood
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/13899136.jpg?w=650)
CHECKING OUT HOW SOME OF SOCAL’S COLLEGE HOOPS TEAMS HAVE BEEN DOING WITH THE BASKETBALL SEASON IN FULL SWING
All right, here’s what’s been up with college hoops in SoCal with this COVID-19 pandemic raging…
- No fans allowed at the games
- No cheerleaders allowed at the games
- No bands allowed at the games
- Cardboard cutouts abundant
- Some teams having played only a handful of games due to coronavirus issues
- Some teams missing weeks due to such issues
And yet, the season’s marching along as the halfway point is being approached.
Here’s my annual look at the men’s and women’s teams in the Los Angeles area that have done well, starting with the men’s squads and the…
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/https-_bustingbrackets.com_wp-content_uploads_getty-images_2016_04_1204247570.jpg?w=1024)
UCLA BRUINS
Coach: Mick Cronin, second year
Record: 11-2, 7-0 and first place in the Pac-12 Conference
Rank: #24 AP, #20 Coaches
Leading Scorer: Jaime Jaquez, Jr, 13.2 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Jalen Hill, 6.3 rpg
Brief Thoughts:
Two prevailing thoughts are prominent in my gray matter as far as this team of my alma mater’s is concerned;
- Like one of the songs in the Beatles’ classic album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band said, “It’s getting better all the time!”
- A saying that an evangelist utters on a regular basis, “You’re not where you need to be but Thank God you’re not where you used to be!”
That’s the best way to describe these Bruins.
I will really be convinced at their potential to win the Pac-12 title and go deep in the NCAA tournament if they win five games in particular:
- Colorado in Boulder on February 27th
- Oregon, twice
- and this crosstown rival – twice – that I’m going to talk about right now…
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/isaiah_evan_mobley_usc_basketball.jpg?w=1024)
USC TROJANS
Coach: Andy Enfield, eighth year
Record: 11-2, 5-1 and second place in the Pac-12 Conference
Leading Scorer: Evan Mobley, 16.2 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Evan Mobley, 9.3 rpg
Brief Thoughts:
To put it bluntly, this Trojan team is scary good.
With Enfield and his staff having been so successful in getting four and five star recruits, the results that ‘SC has been showing on the court to this point is not surprising.
Those Trojans have made it crystal clear that the games of the year in the conference, which may well decide such, will be against a certain school twelve miles to the west of them in Westwood.
Here’s the schedule of this year’s two CROSSTOWN RIVALRY clashes:
- Saturday, February 6th at the Galen Center, 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday, March 6th at Pauley Pavilion, time TBA
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/eip3yjxxsaa2men.jpg?w=1024)
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
Coach: Joe Pasternack, ninth year
Record: 8-3, 4-2 and fourth place in the Big West Conference
Leading Scorer: Jaquori McLaughlin, 16.9 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Jaquori McLaughlin, 5.9 ppg
Brief Thoughts:
One of three teams in the Big West Conference whose won-loss record is decent so far and is off to a good start along with these other two squads…
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/img_6478.jpg?w=1024)
UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS
Coach: Mike Magpayo (interim)
Record: 6-3, 3-1 and third place in the Big West Conference
Leading Scorer: Arinze Chidom, 11.8 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Arinze Chidom, 6.2 rpg
A Brief Thought:
This U.C. school from Riverside came this-close to beating big, bad USC at Galen Center on January 12th, taking the Trojans to overtime before losing 77-72
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/maxresdefault.jpg?w=1024)
UC IRVINE ANTEATERS
Coach: Russell Turner, eleventh year
Record: 6-4, 3-0 and first place in the Big West Conference
Leading Scorer: Dawson Baker, 12.2 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Collin Welp, 7.1 ppg
A Brief Thought:
Would anyone believe that these Anteaters from that south Orange County suburb is the last men’s team from SoCal to have played in the NCAA Tourney, getting their name called on Selection Sunday in 2019 and even beating big name Kansas State in the first round?
Quite impressive!
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/mbb_2019_20_team_photo.jpg?w=1024)
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS
Coach: Stan Johnson, first year
Record: 6-4, 1-1 in the West Coast Conference
Leading Scorer: Eli Scott, 15.0 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Eli Scott, 9.7 rpg
Brief Thoughts:
It’s interesting that these Lions from Westchester have won all of their games at their home Gersten Pavilion and have lost every game they’ve played away from there.
Unfortunately, what with the undefeated top-ranked team in the nation (Gonzaga) playing in their conference,
And with only the winner of the WCC Tournament going to the Big Dance,
It looks like the PCH Cup with their rivals from Malibu – Pepperdine – will make or break their season – and the Waves’, too.
Here are the dates of what I have called “Another SoCal Crosstown Rivalry”:
- Thursday, February 11th at Gersten Pavilion, at 6:00 p.m.
- Thursday, February 25th at Firestone Fieldhouse, at 7:00 p.m.
OK, now that we’ve covered the men’s squads,
It’s high time that we pay attention to the some of the women’s teams, starting with what I still consider to be the best college basketball team in Southern California (male or female), the…
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/jan_10_team.jpg?w=1024)
UCLA BRUINS
Coach: Cori Close, tenth year
Record: 8-2, 6-2 and third place in the Pac-12 Conference
Rank: #6 in the AP poll
Leading Scorer: Michaela Onyenwere, 18.2 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Michaela Onyenwere, 9.1 rpg
Brief Thoughts:
These Bruins keep rolling as they are on the verge of being considered – at least by me – one of the elites of women’s college basketball.
The glass ceiling is still there, however, and they will need to beat some good teams in the conference like 5th-ranked Stanford – who was ranked #1 in the nation before suffering an epic upset at the hands of Colorado in their most recent game – 13th-ranked Oregon, and a 10th-ranked Arizona team that has dealt UCLA one of their two losses.
If they can beat all those squads, and preferably sweep them,
I’ll see no reason why those Bruins couldn’t make a Final Four, or at least be strong contenders to go that deep in the NCAA tournament.
Of course, as a UCLA alum I also want to see them sweep this team that I’m about to chat about…
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/es8_gr1uuaae8p2.jpg?w=529)
USC TROJANS (WOMEN OF TROY)
Coach: Mark Trakh, ninth year
Record: 6-6, 4-5 and eighth place in the Pac-12 Conference
Leading Scorer: Endiya Rogers, 16.4 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Angel Jackson, 6.5 rpg
Brief Thoughts:
After taking a peek at their schedule and the games this ‘SC team has played to date,
It’s evident that this is an up-and-down Trojan team, what with them beating a Washington State squad that was ranked in the top 25,
Only to lose to UC Riverside (of all schools!) two days later.
As for their Crosstown Rivalry with their Westwood neighbors, they have already been badly beaten by those Bruins on December 13th at Galen Center, losing 73-52 with their rematch with UCLA being on…
- Saturday, March 6th at Pauley Pavilion, time TBA
Perhaps Alyssa Pili, last year’s super freshman bruiser who has just come back from an injury, will help USC going forward.
![](https://socalsportschronicles.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/erubimauwaa9hsh.jpg?w=1024)
LONG BEACH STATE “THE BEACH”
Coach: Jeff Cammon, fourth year
Record: 7-1, 6-0 and first place in the Big West Conference
Leading Scorer: Justina King, 15.9 ppg
Leading Rebounder: Kristyna Jeskeova, 7.3 rpg
A Brief Thought:
With their only loss being to USC, their sweeps of UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Bakersfield are impressive and deserve a kudos from me.
Here’s to those Long Beach Staters keeping it up.