Collegebasketball

USC can beat the best, but not the worst this season. The Trojans are 7-1 versus the Pacific 10 Conference's top six teams and 1-5 against the current bottom four. USC Coach Kevin O'Neill's quick explanation was "most of those [losses] came on the road." USC's losses to Oregon, Oregon State and Stanford all came on the road, while Washington State beat USC both home and away. "The important thing," O'Neill continued, "is that we've been in every game with a chance to win it."

UCLA's inside presence now may rest on the shoulders of one guy who has been on the outside looking in much of the season. The Bruins will learn Wednesday whether freshman forward Reeves Nelson will be available for their game against Oregon State on Thursday. Nelson underwent laser surgery to repair a partially torn retina in his left eye. But UCLA Coach Ben Howland was operating under the assumption that Nelson would not be able to play, which would create minutes for sophomore J'mison Morgan , who has played only 49 minutes in Pacific 10 Conference games.

Rk. Team Rec. Result Next 1. CONNECTICUT 27-0 Did not play at Syracuse, today 2. STANFORD 25-1 Did not play at Arizona State, Thurs. 3. NEBRASKA 25-0 Did not play at No. 11 Okla., today 4. TENNESSEE 25-2 Did not play No. 16 Kentucky, Thurs. 5. XAVIER 22-3 Did not play Charlotte, today 6. DUKE 23-4 Did not play No. 21 Virginia, Friday 7. NOTRE DAME 24-3 d. Marquette, 82-67 at Seton Hall, Saturday Melissa Lechlitner scores 23 for Irish, who end a two-game losing streak.

By Shannon Ryan (statistics and records through Sunday): Rk. School (W-L) Comment (last week's ranking) 1 KANSAS (26-1) The Jayhawks haven't let an opponent score 80 points all season. (1) 2 KENTUCKY (26-1) The Wildcats will seek revenge against the only team that beat them -- South Carolina -- on Thursday. (2) 3 PURDUE (23-3) Road wins at Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State speak highly for the Boilermakers.

UCLA's basketball team received more bad news, as freshman forward Reeves Nelson underwent laser surgery on his left eye to repair a slight tear in his retina. Nelson will be reevaluated Wednesday to determine whether he will be able to play against Oregon State on Thursday. He injured his right eye Thursday, when he landed face-first on the court against Washington State, opening a gash that required 15 stitches. "The retinal tear was very far from his central and meaningful peripheral vision and will not affect his ability to see the court," Dr. Steven Schwartz said in a statement.