Cross-town rivals USC and UCLA are both rolling in March Madness and now find themselves just two wins away from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four after last weekend’s games.

USC won its first round matchup against Drake University (IA) on Saturday 72-58. This marked the Trojans first Tournament win since 2017. USC was able to contain a Drake offense that averages 77 points a game, forcing them to shoot only 29% from the field. On offense, USC was led by the Mobley brothers who are Southern California natives. Evan Mobley posted 17 points and 11 rebounds, while his brother Isaiah added 15 points and 5 rebounds. Evan was selected as a Second Team All-American before the tournament started. Junior guard Drew Peterson scored 14 points while also adding 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Senior guard Tahj Eaddy added 9 points, 6 rebounds, and a season high 10 assists.

In the second round, USC faced off against Kansas, defeating the Jayhawks in convincing fashion 85-51. Once again USC’s defense stifled their opponent and they forced Kansas to shoot a season low 29%. Meanwhile the Trojans shot a season high 61% on 3-pointers and posted a 57% from the field, their second highest field goal percentage of the season. Once again the Mobley brothers dominated their opponent. Evan had 10 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists, while Isaiah led the team in scoring with 17 points, adding 8 rebounds and 4 assists to his stat line. Eaddy backed up his game against Drake with a 12 point performance. Rancho Cucamonga native Isaiah White scored 13 points and went 3-for-4 on 3-pointers helping lead the Trojans to victory. Senior Chevez Goodwin and sophomore Ethan Anderson added 10 and 9 points off of the bench respectively. The win helped USC advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007. That 2007 USC team was led by NBA veterans Nick Young and Taj Gibson.

Related Article: Four Southern Californian Teams Make The NCAA Tournament

UCLA had a slightly tougher path to the Sweet 16, as they had to win three games to advance. UCLA was selected as one of the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament which forced them to play in a play-in game against Michigan State to make the 64 team bracket. UCLA was able to overcome an 11 point halftime deficit to ultimately outlast MIchigan State 86-80 in overtime. The Bruins were led by Camarillo native Jamie Jaquez Jr., who had a season high 27 points in the win. Tarzana native Johnny Juzang also scored 23 points to power UCLA past the Spartans.

In their second game UCLA used a strong first half to push them past BYU, 73-62. Three point shooting was the difference in the game. UCLA was able to shoot 42% from 3-point range while BYU was only able to hit on 3 of their 17 shots from deep. Juzang was impressive again and scored 27 points, marking just the second time all year he was able to score 20+ points in back to back games. Jaquez didn’t score as much as against Michigan State, but was still able to contribute 13 points, on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting, and also grabbed 8 rebounds. Los Angeles native Jules Bernard was able to get in on the action scoring 16 points while also having 5 rebounds.

In the next round UCLA was surprised to face Abilene Christian (TX) who had upset the University of Texas in the first round. The Bruins were able to gain control early and hold onto the lead, coasting to a 20 point victory, 67-47. Once again UCLA did not let their opponents shoot well from 3-point range, forcing Abilene Christian to shoot 4-for-19. Abilene Christian was able to upset heavily favored Texas by forcing 22 turnovers. UCLA did not let this happen to them and only turned the ball over 7 times. Juzang continued his hot streak scoring a team high 17 points in the win. Jaquez was also able to add 10 points, meaning the Juzang and Jaquez duo have both scored in double figures in UCLA’s three NCAA Tournament games. Cody Riley was able to have a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Southern California natives Jaylan Clark and Jake Kyman scored 5 and 8 points off the bench respectively. This trip to the Sweet 16 is UCLA’s first since the 2017 Bruins team did so with star Lonzo Ball.

Both schools are scheduled to play Sunday, March 28, with UCLA tipping off at 4:15 PM against Alabama and USC facing Pac-12 rival Oregon, with tip-off at 6:45 PM.

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