(20) TEXAS 56 @ USC 73
Not a bad game to watch after a whole day of getting rocked ATS in NFL action. I caught the 2nd half of the game, and overall, Texas made USC look good. USC did indeed surprise in how good their 2 main forwards, in SR. Alex Stepheson and JR. Nikola Vucevic are. USC held the lead for the whole game. They were up by 9 at half and went on a big run to start the 2nd half. At one point in the run, USC was up by 20 points. If you check out the ESPN recap, it says that USC came up big defensively, but Texas played with no heart on offence as they played softly hovering around the 3-point line unwilling to pass into the blocks or drive to the hole. USC took care of the ball with a surprising coming out party from FR. PG Maurice Jones (pictured above). Texas brought the game to within 10 points but it was too late. As soon as Texas had their little spurt, they turned the switch back to "coast".
USC
Their 2 big men in Alex Stepheson and Nicola Vucevic are two wide enough forwards who are versatile enough to grab rough boards and grab the athletic boards with their jumping ability. Both can take care of the ball on the blocks and face the hoop well. Stepheson can run the court well and Vucevic will shoot the 3. How well he can shoot the trey consistently remains to be seen. Vucevic had a career high 24 points to go with 9 boards.
Both forwards will have no problem outletting D-boards or getting the ball in the lane or on the blocks as, point guard Maurice Jones is lightning fast and hard to catch!! He'll deliver the ball 90% to the bigs. He is so fast with the ball, that he could rival Ty Lawson back in the UNC days. Texas tried their patented full court pressure for most of the 2nd half, and it was impossible to catch Mo-Jones. He'd avoid the pressure and set up the half-court O, while eating clock. He turned on the jets at the right time making easy dribble penetrations for easy lay-ups. Scouting reports say that when Fordham transfer, Jio Fontan becomes eligible in a week or two, he will turn heads in the Pac-10 at the point, but that is if he Mo-Jones will forego that starting job. Mo-Jones takes care of the ball and is a constant threat with his dimes and dribble penetrations. He'll keep defenders honest.
USC have been up and down all year, but as of late, the trio of Stepheson, Vucevic and Mo-Jones have led USC to some W's. If Head Coach Kevin O'Neil can avoid the drama he has found himself in his previous NCAA and NBA coaching jobs, USC will surprise many teams.
TEXAS
Texas looks like they revolve around Soph. Wingman, Jordan Hamilton. He is pretty good one-on-one from the top of the key, but as talented as he is, he goes a bit Harrison Barnes and forces many drives. He averages 21 ppg and was pretty cold today with a 12 point effort at 4-13 from the field. Most of those shots were indeed forced.
The problem with Texas is that they have no point guard whatsoever. They started turnover machine in Sr. Dogus Balbay, but he only played 6 minutes tonight. Toronto-born McDonald All-American PG Cory Joseph started along side Bogus Balbay tonight and he carried the ball up court on every possession and only managed 2 assists on 0 turnovers. He played an extremely safe game by dribbling the ball up and making a wing entry.....and nothing else. He was not a threat at all in penetrating the rock or in shooting the ball, let alone finding anywhere to spot up from a Jordan Hamilton forced drive. (Not like Hamilton would dish the ball anyways).
Texas has been a classic team in playing up and down to their competition since the Kevin Durant Elite Eight season. This is evident as they played up to Illinois by beating them in OT earlier in November and playing down to USC tonight. From seeing them play tonight, they will not play up to many more elite teams, as their question marks at guard should not allow it. This may bring along the same chemistry issues that plagued Texas last year.
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