University Southern California Trojans
USC Takes On B.C. In NCAA 2nd Round
March 16, 2001 | Men's Basketball
March 16, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
LOS ANGELES -- The USC men's basketball team (22-9 overall, 11-7 in the Pacific-10 Conference, tied for fourth place), in its first NCAA Tournament since 1997, will play a second-round game for the first time since 1992 when it was takes on No. 3 seed Boston College (27- 4, 13-3 in the Big East, first place, and Big East Tournament champ) on Saturday (March 17) at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island, N.Y. Tip-off is set for approximately 5:30 p.m. (EST). The Trojans advanced to the round of 32 after defeating Oklahoma State, 69- 54, on Thursday. USC is now 7-12 in 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a third-place finish in 1940 and a fourth in 1954.
GAME #32 -- USC (22-9 overall, 11-7 in the Pacific-10 Conference, tied for fourth place) vs. No. 3 seed Boston College (27-4, 13-3 in the Big East, first place, and Big East Tournament champ) on Saturday (March 17). The game will be televised live on CBS and will be broadcast live on XTRA 690-AM. The Eagles, under fourth-year coach Al Skinner, are coming off of a down-to-the-wire 68-65 win over No. 14 seed Southern Utah on Thursday. In the win, Eagle sophomore guard Troy Bell had a team-high 18 points, including two free throws with 13 seconds left that gave Boston College its final margin of victory. The Thunderbirds had a shot to tie at the buzzer, but could not knock a shot down. Bell entered the tournament averaging a team-high 20.1 points per game while senior guard Xavier Singletary was next with 11.8 ppg. Fellow senior guard Kenny Harley is the team's leading rebounder (5.7).
SWEET 16 -- If USC advances past the second round, it will play the winner of Saturday's second game between No. 2 seed Kentucky and No. 7 seed Iowa in Philadelphia on March 22.
USC VS. 2001 NCAA TOURNAMENT TEAMS -- Including the first-round Oklahoma State game, USC has played eight teams that made it to the 2001 NCAA Tournament and is a combined 5-7 against the bunch. In addition to the Cowboy victory, USC sports wins against Mountain West Tournament champion BYU (70-67), Big Sky Tournament winner Cal State Northridge (99-90) and a pair of victories over Pac-10 rival California (80-66 and 74-69). Among the seven losses, the Trojans dropped two games to top-ranked Stanford (77-71, 70- 68), two to Top 10 Arizona (71-58, 105-61), two to Top 20 UCLA (80-75, 86-75) and one to Top 15 Mississippi (85-83 in OT).
VS. OKLAHOMA STATE -- No. 6 seed USC won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1992 with a convincing 69-54 win over No. 11 seed Oklahoma State on Thursday at the Nassau Coliseum. Junior forward Sam Clancy posted a double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds while senior guard Jeff Trepagnier scored 17 points, includ-ing a couple of highlight-reel dunks. The Trojans outscored the Cowboys, 48-19, in the first half and staved off a late rally to advance in the tournament. USC never trailed in the game. The Trojans were up 10-9 only 3:15 into the game when they went on a 14-0 run to go ahead 24-9 with 10:53 left in the first half. After an OSU basket, USC charged forward again, stringing together an 11-0 run, taking a commanding 35-11 lead with 4:38 remaining before the break. When Clancy scored the first basket of the second half, USC had a game-high 31-point lead at 50-19. Oklahoma State battled back, however, getting as close as 58-44 with 8:03 to play. But USC rebuilt its lead to 20 points at 67-47 with 2:53 left, sealing the win. The Cowboys were led by Fredrik Jonzen's 17 points and Andre Williams' 13 rebounds.
LAST GAME NOTES -- With his first basket of the game, USC junior guard Brandon Granville became the 25th player in USC history (and the third this season) to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier. Senior forward/center Brian Scalabrine and senior guard Jeff Trepagnier were the first two Trojans to reach 1,000 points this year. Entering the game with 999 points, Granville finished with 14 points and is now 24th on the Trojans' all-time scoring list with 1,013. Junior forward Sam Clancy entered the game with 974 points and finished with 996. He is 26th on USC's career scoring list and is looking to join his three teammates as the fourth player to go for a grand this year. USC has never had four players on the same team with 1,000 career points ... Sam Clancy's double-double was his team-best seventh this year ... With his five assists, Brandon Granville, USC's all-time leader in the category, now has 574 for his career, good for 10th best all-time in the Pacific-10 Conference ... Clancy's four blocks marked the 13th time this year he has had at least three rejections in a game. He now has 69 for the season, three short of the school record of 72 (Avondre Jones) ... USC's 48-19 halftime lead was its largest of the season and biggest since leading Loyola Marymount, 56-23, at the half last year ... However, the Trojans' 21 second-half points was a low by far this year. The previous low was 32 (three times) ... Clancy now has 538 points this season, eighth-most in school history.
THAT 20-WIN BARRIER -- USC is enjoying its first 20-win season since the Harold Miner-led Trojans went 24-6 in 1992. That team finished the regular season ranked No. 8 and earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Region before being upset by Georgia Tech in the second-round. USC's 22 wins this season are the most since 1992 and are the most wins under any Henry Bibby-led USC team. His previous best was his 1997 team that went 17-11 and made an appearance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament (a loss to Illinois).
NABC DISTRICT PICKS -- The National Association of Basket-ball Coaches announced its All-District picks and two Trojans were selected. Junior forward Sam Clancy earned District 15 first team honors while senior forward/center Brian Scalabrine earned a second-team nod.
USC ON THE ALL-PAC-10 TEAM -- Junior forward Sam Clancy was the only Trojan on the 2001 All-Pacific-10 Conference first team honors. Senior forward/center Brian Scalabrine earned All-Pac-10 honorable mention honors while guard Desmon Farmer earned All-Pac- 10 Freshman honorable mention honors.
