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UCLA seeks season sweep of city rival USC

Feb 7, 2007 - 4:19 PM No. 21 USC (18-6) at No. 2 UCLA (20-2) 10:30 pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- UCLA is hoping for an easier time in its second matchup with city rival Southern California.

The second-ranked Bruins look to extend their home winning streak to 18 straight games Wednesday when they host the 21st-ranked Trojans in a Pac-10 Conference game.

When the teams met on January 13 at USC, Bruins guard Arron Afflalo hit a 15-foot jumper with four seconds to play to lift UCLA (20-2, 9-2 Pac-10) to a thrilling 65-64 victory.

The Trojans (18-6, 8-3) had scored seven straight points to take the lead before Afflalo's game-winning shot.

UCLA is coming off an impressive two-game sweep of then-No. 9 Oregon and Oregon State. The Bruins rebounded from a loss to Stanford by defeating Oregon, 69-57, last Thursday to avenge one of their two defeats this season. UCLA then dismantled the Beavers, 82-35, on Saturday.

Afflalo is riding a fairly impressive streak of his own, having scored in double figures in 21 consecutive games.

USC improved its record against ranked teams to 5-2 this season with Saturday's 71-68 victory over Oregon, completing a season sweep of the Ducks.

Freshman Taj Gibson scored 18 points in the crucial victory for the Trojans, who will play five of their final seven games on the road.