Basketball

Coach Ben Howland studied tape of USC's upset victory over Arizona State, paying attention to the way the Trojans limited Sun Devils star James Harden to four points. The coach had this warning: Don't expect more of the same when No. 16 Arizona State plays No. 9 UCLA at Pauley Pavilion today. "He's not going to have another game like that," Howland said. "This guy's a great player. This guy is a lottery pick in the NBA."

Twice in the last three games USC has had to do without Taj Gibson for a significant stretch. Twice, the Trojans have been able to survive, even thrive, without their best inside player. Strange, but true. Gibson played only 10 minutes of the first half against Oregon on Jan. 2, sitting out the last six after picking up his third foul. The Trojans got to halftime tied, 34-34, and went on to defeat the Ducks, 83-62.

Last year, Tim Floyd told anyone who would listen he was a USC Trojan for life. "This is my last job," he insisted. What Floyd never said was "this is my last job interview." This week, Floyd told players at the season-ending basketball banquet that he was in for the long haul. And Floyd meant it, at the time he said it. Before he knew it, though, he was on a private jet headed to Tucson and interviewing for the Arizona job. Reaction: Attach yourselves to dogs, folks, not coaches.

Kevin O'Neill, USC's new basketball coach, said he was ready to move "forward" -- his view being that the glass is half full and not cracked and leaking all over the counter as the perception has been recently. These are hardly happy times around the Galen Center, with an NCAA investigation churning on and recruits leaving with such speed that they cause vapor trails.

One man donned a scarlet sweater, the other a crimson cape -- and both outfits had people seeing red. Bob Knight and Blake Griffin were this weekend's antagonists, inciting hostilities in Berkeley and Lubbock with fearless playfulness and ferocious play. Knight, the former Army coach, turned Indiana coach, turned Texas Tech coach, turned ESPN analyst, took his precious 1st Amendment rights to California's Haas Pavilion for Saturday's game between the Golden Bears and UCLA's Bruins.

Halfway through practice, it looked as if the UCLA basketball team had lost another player, forward Nikola Dragovic heading for the locker room with a trainer in tow. But this wasn't another sprained ankle or sore back. Instead, Dragovic was sick to his stomach, apparently from eating pasta that had been left out too long. That's how bad it has been for injury-riddled UCLA the last few weeks -- gastric distress starts to look pretty good. "Food poisoning, he'll get over," Coach Ben Howland said.

Daniel Hackett gave himself two giant thumbs down following a two-hour film session Monday in which USC reviewed its lackluster 70-57 victory Saturday over UC Riverside, with the sophomore guard saying he wasn't sure if he should remain in the starting lineup. "Really, I don't think I should start the way I played lately, but that will be Coach [Tim Floyd's] decision," said Hackett, who had 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three turnovers against the Highlanders.

PALO ALTO -- It's not the way UCLA expects to win, having its surges and runs propelled by Josh Shipp's three-point shooting instead of sturdy defensive stands. It was almost disconcerting to watch the Bruins trade baskets with Stanford through the first part of the second half, an Alfred Aboya hook shot followed by a Brook Lopez layup, a Darren Collison fadeaway in the lane matched by a Mitch Johnson leaner. But it is the win that mattered.

BERKELEY -- When an opposing 7-footer knocks down an open three-point shot and then a forward making 16.7% of his three-point attempts follows by converting two in a row, things are way out of whack for the USC defense. The No. 22 Trojans had made a habit of stifling their counterparts from long distance but couldn't contain California from beyond the three-point arc Thursday night at Haas Pavilion during a 92-82 loss in their Pacific 10 Conference opener.