Now no one will ever know whether USC did enough in the last week to impress the NCAA tournament selection committee.
The Trojans accepted a tournament berth on their own terms Saturday, with a loud and long display of emotion. DeMar DeRozan bounced around the court, refusing to give up the game ball. Taj Gibson emitted a primal scream to no one in particular. Daniel Hackett leaped onto the scorer's table at Staples Center and shouted to fans.
Call it a therapeutic release.
It all came after the Trojans rallied from 15-point halftime deficit to beat No. 23 Arizona State, 66-63, win the Pacific 10 Conference tournament and deny TV talkers nearly 24 hours of are-they-in-or-are-they-out blathering before the NCAA pairings are announced today.
"Tomorrow, we don't have to wait around, hoping, praying to see if they give us a spot," guard Dwight Lewis said. "We earned it."
They did.
The Trojans looked dead enough to need a toe tag at halftime, after Arizona State's James Harden spent the first half displaying his NBA-lottery-pick skills. The potential ramifications were clear -- lose this game, and wait to see if the the selection committee's fickle finger pointed USC's way.
Selection Sunday will be a lot less stressful today, as the Trojans are assured of a third consecutive tournament trip, a first in the program's history.
"It's going to make it easier to sleep tonight, though I don't think I'm going to be able to get to sleep," said DeRozan, had a game-high 25 points and was named the tournament's most outstanding player.
Asked afterward whether he thought the game had to be won to get a tournament spot, Coach Tim Floyd said, "I did. When they take every Big East team, there are probably not that many spots left."
The Trojans took one with a furious second-half rally, capped by a 9-1 run in the last two minutes.
Hackett started it with a jumper, then put the Trojans ahead, 64-63, with two free throws with 42 seconds left.
The game then turned on a mano-a-mano confrontation between Harden, the conference player of the year, and Taj Gibson, the defensive player of the year. On back-to-back possessions, Harden worked off a screen. Gibson blocked his first shot and denied him a good look the second time.
Said Gibson: "I thought, 'Oh no, here comes the rocker step again. Stay down, Coach has faith in you, don't let him down.' "
