"Just Like Football": UCLA Basketball Destroys Southern Cal 96-70

Well we knew UCLA would put a whipping on Southern Cal, but who would have guessed it would be Isaac Hamilton to lead the Mighty Bruins?

We knew UCLA would win, and could win big.  Why?

1. They are still without their 1st team all Pac-12 starting point guard.
2. They had to work hard to come back against ASU.
3. We had eight days of rest.
4. We should have been well prepared for Southern Cal as they were our last opponent.
5. We have superior talent.
6. We played on a neutral court.
7. Southern Cal finished last in the Pac-12.
8. We had more to gain with a win.
9. They are justSC*.
10. We are UCLA.

The first half (47-29)

The Bruins looked a little sloppy at first, probably rust, but within a few minutes were looking crisp, getting steals (13 in the half!), and playing what looked like effortless ball with good energy.  Especially Isaac Hamilton.  Isaac's first half stats: 18 points on 6 for 9 shooting, 3 for 4 from behind the arc, 3 assists, and 2 steals.  In the first half, the Bruins scored an incredible 47 points.  The only bad thing that happened in the first half, and this could be a very bad thing, is that Kevon Looney went out with a cut under his eye and a possible concussion.  The other good thing was that the bench came in, got a few points and played good defense.  Gyorgy Golomonin hit a three, Noah Allen took a charge and played some good defense on Reinhardt, and Thomas Welsh scored a couple.  Maybe most importantly, the bench accounted for 24 points.  Norman Powell had a couple of his incredible dunks, "best in court dunker in the league?", and was playing aggressively, slashing to the rim almost at will.  He also accumulated three fouls in the half.

The second half (49-41)

Hamilton started the 2nd half with 2 more beautiful threes in a row.  Goloman started the second half for Looney.  But then Southern Cal got its offense going.  Hamilton continued to shoot with ease  The bench continued to play big minutes and make some nice play: some really great assists Allen to Parker, and Goloman to Welsh come to mind, and some nice tip-ins by Allen.  The ball was moving around the floor, and as we have seen, when the Bruins move the ball, good things happen.  As the half continued you could almost see the wind come out of the trojans' sails, fouling Bryce on a 3 pointer, dribbling the ball off one's foot, all showed signs of $c's weariness.  The Bruins also got a little loose, both on offense and defense (take a look at Southern Cal's second half points). But it didn't matter.  The game was over before the half started.  Overall the bench really came through, scoring 20 points and playing beaucoup minutes.

The Big Question for tomorrow:  Will Kevon Looney be back?

You can get all your game stats from the PAC-12.

This is  your post-game thread...enjoy!

Go Bruins!