SoCal NCAA Preview

No. 5 UCLA (13-1) at California (10-2), 3:00 pm, FSNPT
BERKELEY, California (Ticker) -- Fifth-ranked UCLA goes for its second straight road win in the Pac-10 Conference and eighth straight win overall when it visits California on Saturday.

The Bruins (13-1, 1-0 Pac-10) began their quest for a third straight regular season conference title with a 76-67 victory at No. 20 Stanford on Thursday. Josh Shipp had a season-high 21 points in the victory and freshman Kevin Love had 15 and seven rebounds against Stanford's 7-foot Lopez brothers. Love will have to face another test on Saturday when he goes against Cal's Ryan Anderson. The sophomore power forward is among the conference leaders, averaging 21.6 points and 9.3 rebounds. Anderson has posted six double-doubles this season.

The Golden Bears (10-2, 1-0), who have won three straight overall, won their Pac-10 opener as well, defeating Southern California, 92-82, on Thursday. Patrick Christopher, second on the team in scoring at 17.6 points per game, netted 24 to pace the Bears. Last season, UCLA won both regular-season meetings with California by double digits, but the Bruins were surprised by the Bears, 76-69, in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament.



USC (9-4) at No. 20 Stanford (11-2), 5:00 pm, FSNPT
PALO ALTO, California (Ticker) -- No. 20 Stanford and Southern California will each look to avoid an 0-2 start in Pac-10 Conference play when the teams meet at Maples Pavilion on Saturday.

The Cardinal are coming off a 76-67 home loss to No. 5 UCLA on Thursday, while the Trojans dropped a 92-82 decision to California. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Stanford, which has not dropped its first two home games in Pac-10 play since the 1983-84 campaign. Anthony Goods scored 20 points in Thursday's loss. The Cardinal are led by the 7-foot Brook Lopez, who has averaged 17.8 points in four games since returning from an academic suspension.

The Trojans' loss on Thursday snapped a three-game winning streak, and USC has lost five straight times in Stanford. Freshman sensation O.J. Mayo scored a season-high 34 points in his conference debut and is averaging 22.3 points this season. The teams split the two regular-season meetings last season before the Trojans won, 83-79, in the quarterfinals of the Pac-10 tournament.