Joining a new conference is challenging for any college basketball team. But as No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 USC are finding this week, it’s an even bigger task to learn from the top.
Both schools, which became top 10 programs last season, joined the Big 10 this year, bringing the number of teams in the league to 18. Both the Bruins and Trojans survived the first serious tests of their new conference this week and passed with flying colors, defeating both No. 24 Michigan and Nebraska.
But each program had to quickly turn around and fly east to face more tough competition this weekend, as they handle the pressure to maintain their rankings. Coaches and players say they are ready for the storms.
“We’re excited for it…that’s what you want as competitors,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said Sunday, after her team downed the Wolverines. “This is a great league, and a lot of it is new for us.”
Gottlieb said she has watched Big 10 teams go deep into the NCAA Tournament every year, and is mindful that the growth of the conference now means squads face each other just once per season.
“We know we have to be ready, and we know it’s going to bring out our best, because they’re a bunch of NCAA Tournament teams,” she said. “We’ve got to rise up and play better, and we know it’s going to make us a better team playing in this conference.”
Michigan played the Trojans closely through the first quarter, and then chopped the 9-point lead they gained in the second down to 3 by intermission. It wasn’t until the end of the third period that USC ignited and went on a run, from which they never looked back in the 78-58 win.
Against the Bruins, the Wolverines switched to a zone defense in the third quarter, and were able to whittle down the UCLA lead to as little as 6 toward the end of the frame, largely behind freshman sensation Syla Swords, who dropped a career-high 30 points. The hosts had to step on the gas in the fourth period, and outscored their opponents 29-20 to close it out, 86-70.
Bruins coach Cori Close saw the game as a wake-up call for her team.
“I thought they out-toughed us tonight,” she said. “We may have talented pieces, but they won the toughness and togetherness battle.”
Close said UCLA needed more teamwork, and better defense.
“We have an immense amount of talent, but we have to decide if we want to win individual games, or if we want to win a championship. And that’s a decision we have to make right away.”
The undefeated Bruins, who took the No. 1 spot in late November after beating then-No. 1 South Carolina, faces Indiana at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall tomorrow, and Purdue on Tuesday.
“I’m really excited that we have such a tough opponent in a really hostile environment this next game, because if you want to keep winning, you better buck up,” Close said.
Michigan, who like USC has a lot of new faces this year, is also facing a crash course in learning quickly. Senior guard Greta Kampschroeder said she and the other veterans are doing their best to lead the way.
“A big thing we were talking about in the locker room was like, we’re going to have to grow up pretty quick. We have some new people that came in this past year … we’re not as experienced as we’ve been in the past,” Kampschroeder said.
Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico said she and her staff are trying to instill confidence in athletes.
“Just believe in yourself like we believe in you as coaches. I believe in you,” Barnes Arico said about her messages to the team. “As a program, we believe in you. You’re going to make mistakes, and you’ve got to be able to let them go and you’ve got to be able to move on, because we don’t want to be on this emotional roller coaster of living by every play. Basketball is a game of mistakes…let it go and move on and let’s just focus.”
The Trojans, whose only loss was to No. 3 Notre Dame five weeks ago, will face Rutgers Sunday before traveling to No. 8 Maryland for a Wednesday tipoff. Gottlieb said with injured freshman Kennedy Smith back in the starting lineup, and All-American Juju Watkins in good form, the only way to go is up.
“We’ll continue to have high standards and expectations, while continuing to get better throughout the year,” Gottlieb said.
UCLA began Big 10 play last month, as they faced former Pac-12 opponent Washington, while USC handled another former Pac-12 conference-mate in Oregon. The longtime Southern California rivals will still face one another twice, for bragging rights in a series. Every other team, they will only play once.
“You better take advantage of your one shot,” Close said. “And we’re learning all these teams for the first time. If that doesn’t bring a sense of urgency to you.”
The Big 10 currently has 7 teams in the AP top 25 poll, with 4 of them in the top 10.
“We’re the new kids on the block; we’ve got the biggest targets on our backs,” Close said. We need to come in not just doing the scout, but dominating the scout. As you can tell, I’m fired up about this, because I do not want this team to settle for a lack of character.”
Close said time will tell – and quickly.
“This conference is going to reveal, and I hope our players do the work so they like what it shows about them,” she said.
