USC-Northwestern Preview
December 26, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 26, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Southern California will try to quicken the pace Wednesday when it plays a Northwestern squad that is beginning to understand the patience and discipline preached by first-year coach Bill Carmody.
The 16th-ranked Trojans (9-1) are averaging 83 points per game and shooting 47.2 percent from the field. USC has scored at least 70 points in all 10 games and has topped 80 on five occasions, winning four.
Henry Bibby's team placed third in the Yahoo! Invitational at Laie, Hawaii, prior to Christmas, rallying from an 18-point halftime deficit to record a 70-67 victory over Brigham Young on Saturday. Brian Scalabrine and Sam Clancy scored 26 points each for USC, which rallied despite having Bibby ejected with 2:53 to play in the first half.
The Trojans showed the type of mettle they will need for their conference clashes in the Pac-10, bouncing back from a tough one-point overtime loss to Mississippi in the semifinals.
"We didn't come ready to play in the first half," Bibby said. "We had a heart-to-heart talk at halftime. We challenged the guys to play to their potential. We wanted to see what they were made of."
Scalabrine, who is averaging a team-high 18.2 points, currently is 15th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,124 points, three behind Don Carfino.
While USC has enjoyed success playing an up-tempo style, Northwestern (6-5) is beginning to taste success with the disciplined passing-oriented offense Carmody brought over from Princeton, where he compiled a 92-25 mark in four seasons.
The Wildcats placed fifth in the San Juan Shootout, gaining wins over Iona and Evansville in the consolation bracket after losing to Kent in the first round. Winston Blake scored 16 points and Collier Drayton added 13 for Northwestern, which made a season-high 14 3-pointers and stormed to a 39-18 halftime lead.
Northwestern has topped 80 points on two occasions this season but its magic number appears to be 60. The Wildcats are 5-0 when scoring 60 or more points, but 1-5 when held under that mark.
Blake leads the Wildcats in scoring at 11.9 points per game, followed by Ben Johnson's 11 points per contest.
The Trojans recorded an 85-44 rout of the Wildcats at Los Angeles last season as David Bluthenthal, Brandon Granville and Jeff Trepagnier all scored 20 points.
USC leads the all-time series 6-2 and has won the last three games between the schools.
