University Southern California Trojans
AP Preview: USC vs. UNC-Wilmington
March 13, 2002 | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2002
GAME: No. 13 North Carolina-Wilmington (22-9) vs. No. 4 Southern California (22-9).
REGIONAL: South, First Round.
TIME: Thursday, 7:55 p.m. EST.
SITE: ARCO Arena, Sacramento, Calif.
Southern California came within one victory of reaching its first Final Four last season. With a more talented squad this time around, the Trojans feel they can finally advance to the NCAA tournament's biggest weekend.
Following a remarkable Pac-10 tournament run, fourth-seeded USC begins its quest against 13th-seeded North Carolina-Wilmington.
The Trojans finished the Pac-10 regular season in a four-way tie for second place, but advanced to the finals of the conference tournament, where they fell to Arizona 81-71 on Saturday.
David Bluthenthal led USC with 16 points and eight rebounds. Desmon Farmer added 15 and Brandon Granville chipped in 13. Despite the setback in the title game, the Trojans' run included victories over then-No. 18 Stanford (103-78) and top-seeded Oregon (89-78).
"We're not done yet," said Sam Clancy, the Pac-10 player of the year.
Fresh off that success, USC will look to improve its postseason resume. In 10 prior trips to the NCAA tournament, the Trojans had never gotten past the second round until last year. USC came within one win of reaching the Final Four before losing to Duke 79-69 in Philadelphia.
This season, the Trojans benefited from a rule change allowing the selection committee to place teams closer to home for the first and second rounds of the tournament.
"My whole thing is West Coast, one hour away, no time change," coach Henry Bibby said. "I like that."
N.C.-Wilmington wasn't as fortunate, but the Seahawks are relishing their chance to play in the field of 65.
"It doesn't matter where we're playing at," Brett Blizzard said. "If we play in Japan, that's irrelevant to the situation. The court's still the same size."
After winning the Colonial Athletic Association regular season crown, the Seahawks won the conference tournament by beating Virginia Commonwealth 66-51 in the championship game on March 4. Blizzard had 22 points and eight rebounds, and Craig Callahan added 11 points. Ed Williams chipped in with 10 points and 10 boards.
N.C.-Wilmington earned its second trip to the tournament in three seasons. The Seahawks lost their only other NCAA tournament game, to Cincinnati in 2000.
PROBABLE STARTERS: N.C.-Wilmington - F Callahan (13.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg), F Williams (10.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg), F Stewart Hare (6.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg), G Blizzard (17.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg), G Tim Burnette (5.6 ppg, 2.4 apg). USC - F Clancy (19.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg), F Bluthenthal (12.1 ppg, 7.5 rpg), G Brandon Granville (12.5 ppg, 5.7 apg), G Errick Craven (11.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg), G Farmer (9.1 ppg, 3.3 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: N.C.-Wilmington - Automatic bid, Colonial Athletic Association champion. Southern California - At-large bid, Pac-10.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: N.C.-Wilmington - 0-1, 1 year. USC - 9-13, 11 years.
