Three months prior to March Madness, attending a college basketball game last week provided relief from the news of absolute madness in Southern California. A familiar ritual was played out on the regulated sanctuary of the court. Shooting was an art practiced by players launching round balls toward a hoop. A swat team did arrive at the Thunderdome: the tall and agile USC Trojans, who rejected eight UCSB shot attempts. USC’s 75-63 victory prolonged the Gauchos’ frustration against the Pac-12: four losses in four games against teams from that conference.
Despite the blocked shots, UCSB showed better accuracy than the visitors (25-for-59 versus 25-for-64) and made over half of its three-point shots (10-for-19). Consecutive three-pointers by John Green, Eric Childress, and Gabe Vincent reduced an 11-point USC lead to 61-59, but when Michael Bryson sank another three that would have kept the margin at two points, a USC foul away from the ball nullified the basket. That seemed to take the steam out of the Gauchos.
The difference in the final score was USC’s 18-3 advantage in made free throws. In a sport where the home team customarily receives the benefit of the calls, the Gauchos were whistled for 17 fouls and the Trojans just 11 (one of which helped them).