SoCal NBA Preview

No. 6 UCLA (21-3) at USC (15-8), 7:00 pm

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- UCLA is hungry for revenge against its fiercest rival. The sixth-ranked Bruins look to rebound from just their third loss of the season and get a degree of retribution Sunday when they face Southern California.

The Bruins (21-3, 9-2 Pac-10) hold just a one-half-game lead over No. 6 Stanford in the Pac-10 and didn't help their standing last Sunday when they suffered a dismal 71-61 setback to Washington. Things don't get any easier on Sunday against USC, which handed UCLA a 72-63 home loss during the teams' first meeting this season on January 19. Davon Jefferson scored a career-high 25 points during that game while O.J. Mayo added 16 as the pair of freshmen outdueled UCLA's first-year star Kevin Love, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Trojans.

However, USC (15-8, 6-5) also enters Sunday's showdown with a loss during its last game. Jefferson and Mayo combined for just 27 points and were the only players in double figures as the Trojans were routed, 74-50, against No. 20 Washington State on February 9.