Bruins' Bitter Rival's HC Sounds Off on Blowout Loss

The UCLA Bruins earned a 90-63 win over in-state rival, USC, Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion in the final regular-season game of the year. Trojans coach Eric Musselman expressed blunt words postgame about his team's disappointing performance.

Mar 1, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; USC Trojans head coach Eric Musselman reacts to the action in the second half against the Oregon Ducks at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (22-9, 13-7) dominated on their home floor Saturday night, as they defeated their bitter rival, USC (15-16, 7-13), by a score of 90-63 to complete the season sweep. Trojans coach Eric Musselman did not mince words postgame, talking about his team's disappointing performance.

"I mean their pressure defense and our inability to take care of the basketball," Musselman said. "I mean, the points off turnovers is, you know, they just manhandled us and beat us in every facet of the game."

The Bruins forced an eyebrow-raising 20 turnovers, converting those to 37 points off the turnovers. They suffocated USC defensively from the opening tip as the Bruins failed to allow them to comfortably get into any sort of rhythm offensively throughout all 40 minutes.

Prior to the contest, FOX sideline reporter Kristina Pink briefly interviewed the first-year Trojans head coach, asking him about his team's preparation for the rivalry rematch. He openly said he was not sure if his guys understood the weight of this game. He doubled down on that postgame.

"I felt like the rivalry, they [USC] didn't understand, even in Game 1, and they certainly didn't understand today," Musselman said.

"What it means to the student body at USC, what it means to boosters and alumni. I said it before the game on national TV, that I didn't know if they understood. We played the game like we were playing any normal game and it's not supposed to be a normal game.

" ... All I can do is give UCLA a ton of credit. I thought they played tougher than us, I thought they had a greater will to win and then our turnovers. It's really hard to win when you turn the ball over like that."

It was a wire-to-wire victory for UCLA, as it earned its first season sweep over the Trojans since 2018 and the first time in the Mick Cronin era. This team could not have played a better game as they head into the Big Ten Tournament with a double bye and whole lot of momentum and confidence.

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