SoCal NCAA Preview

Washington (9-5) at No. 5 UCLA (14-1), 7:30 pm, FSNPT
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - UCLA goes for its eighth straight win on Thursday when it hosts Washington. Fifth-ranked UCLA (14-1, 2-0 Pac-10) continued its winning ways during its last game on Saturday. Freshman Kevin Love notched his seventh double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to lead the Bruins to a 70-58 victory over California. Love leads UCLA with 16.5 points and 10.2 rebounds this season but agitated local media when he failed to show up for a press session last Thursday. The freshman sensation held a teleconference later in the day with the media and apologized throughout the meeting for his absence, saying that he got confused due to new class schedules for the spring semester. Washington (9-5, 0-1) is looking to bounce back from a loss in its conference opener on Saturday, which snapped a season-high five-game winning streak. Jon Brockman scored 14 points and added 17 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to lift the Huskies to victory, as they suffered a 56-52 setback to No. 4 Washington State. Brockman, a junior, is putting together the best season of his career, averaging a team-high 18.4 points and 11.4 rebounds a game this campaign. Washington may have a hard time regaining its previous form against UCLA. The Huskies are 0-4 against ranked opponents this season while the Bruins hold a 41-3 record all-time against Washington at Pauley Pavilion.

No. 4 Washington St (13-0) at USC (9-5), 8:00 pm. FSN
LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Led by the nation's top-scoring defense, fourth-ranked Washington State is off to its best start in 72 years. The fourth-ranked Cougars try to stay unbeaten when they take on O.J. Mayo and Southern California in a Pac-10 clash on Thursday. Washington State (13-0, 1-0 Pac-10) is giving up just 49.8 points per game, matching its best start since winning its first 13 games in 1935-36 season. The Cougars' best start in school history is 17-0 set during the 1914-15 campaign. The Cougars have not opened 2-0 in the conference since 1994-95 and have a chance to achieve that after Saturday's 56-52 victory at Washington. Aron Baynes had 16 points in the win. USC (9-5, 0-2) is looking for its first win in the conference after losing at California and Stanford last week. USC has not lost its first three conference games since opening 0-5 in 2004-05. The Trojans are led by Mayo - a freshman sensation - who is second in the conference in scoring at 20.1 points per game. Mayo scored 34 points in the loss to California on January 3 but had just 14 on 5-of-19 shooting in Saturday's loss to Stanford. Washington State won the two regular-season meetings last season before USC won, 70-61, in the semifinals of the Pac-10 tournament.