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Mayo, USC face UCLA for first time ever in Pac-10 tournament

Mar 14, 2008 - 2:34 PM USC (21-10) vs. No. 2 UCLA (29-3) 9:00 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - All eyes will be on the star freshman when USC faces second-ranked UCLA for the first time ever during the semifinals of the Pac-10 Conference tournament on Friday.

The Bruins' freshman Kevin Love won the Conference Player of the Year award after averaging 17.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game and helping UCLA to its third straight regular season Pac-10 crown.

UCLA, which is looking for its second tournament title in the last three years, defeated California in the quarterfinal round, 88-66, on Thursday.

Darren Collison had 19 points and five assists to lead the Bruins, who made 14-of-25 shots from the arc.

Fourth-seeded USC won at UCLA this season before falling to the Bruins at home on February 17.

The Trojans, led by freshman O.J. Mayo, have won three straight and six of their last seven games. USC defeated Arizona State in the quarterfinals, 59-55, on Thursday.

Mayo was smothered by the UCLA defense in the last meeting, scoring a season-low four points on 2-of-8 shooting, while being covered by Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, Russell Westbrook. Mayo also had a season-high 10 turnovers.

But the freshman has rebounded since that game, averaging 25.7 points per contest, including 23 against the Sun Devils.

The winner of the rubber-match will meet either Stanford and Washington State in the championship game on Saturday.