It is important to stay calm this Thursday for danger lurks.  A dark evil is targeting college students and its name is Hackett.  To call it by its first name is to give it power.  Be careful, this Hackett has struck before and he just might strike again:

USC suffered a meltdown on and off the court Saturday night and, in the process, was dealt a severe blow to its NCAA Tournament hopes.

The Trojans lost to No. 22 Washington, 60-51, in front of 7,325 at the Galen Center, but then the real fireworks began. About 20 minutes after the game, witnesses said USC guards Daniel Hackett and Dwight Lewis got into a shoving match on the court and arena security needed to break up the altercation.

According to witnesses, Hackett became agitated with a group of college students. Lewis then appeared to defend the students. That led to words between Hackett and him, and escalated into shoves.

Witnesses said Hackett was escorted back toward the locker room by a member of the basketball staff, but that an agitated Hackett reappeared a few minutes later under the USC basket.

 

Don't believe me?  Here's video of Hackett taking out a college student:

So, be safe out there people.  Stick to your buddy.  Have a safe word.  Steer clear of Hackett, tasers, and, most importantly, Hackett with tasers.  Hackett has a taste for blood and he'll stop at nothing.  We know how bloodthirsty USC football players are, one can only assume USC basketball players are just as murderous!

Let's take a look at the official preview of the game:

USC Scouting Report
A Look at USC
The Trojans come to Berkeley on Thursday with a 7-7 record in the Pac-10. USC split last weekend's games in Los Angeles, beating Washington State on Thursday, but losing to Washington on Saturday. Dwight Lewis currently leads the squad in scoring, averaging 15.4 ppg.

 

Cal-USC Series History
The Bears and Trojans split the season series last year, with the home team winning each contest. Cal knocked off then-No. 22 USC in the 2007-08 Pac-10 opener, 82-72. Patrick Christopher led the Bears with 24 points, while Jerome Randle collected 16. The Trojans got even in Los Angeles later in the year, prevailing 93-89 in overtime. USC also won the first meeting this season, 72-63. Cal leads the all-time series, 125-117.

 

USC Head Coach Tim Floyd
Tim Floyd is in his fourth season at USC and 21st season of head coaching at the collegiate and NBA levels. In 2007-08, he led USC to a 21-12 record and into the NCAA Tournament after finishing tied for third in the Pac-10 with an 11-7 record.
Probable Starters

Pos	No	Name	                Ht	Wt	Yr	Ppg	Rpg
F	10 	DeMar DeRozan	        6-7	220	Fr	12.6	5.5
F	22 	Taj Gibson	        6-9	225	Jr	13.8	9.3
F	04 	Leonard Washington	6-7	230	Fr	6.7     4.5
G	21	Dwight Lewis	        6-5	215	Jr	15.4	3.1
G	13 	Daniel Hackett	        6-5	215	Jr	11.6	4.1

Some videos against UCLA:

Highlights against us from earlier this year:

Stanford v. USC:

USC v. Arizona:

USC v. ASU:

Taj Gibson interview:

USC at the start of the season:

USC also lost to Mizzou!

More info on Daniel Hackett:

He's fluent in the Lover's Language?

This is moderately unrelated, but noticed this, too:

USC took on Oklahoma this year:

And we can't forget about UCLA.  Seriously, we can't.  UCLA fans will never let us.

UCLA Scouting Report
A Look at UCLA
UCLA and Cal currently boast the exact same record entering this weekend's action. The Bruins split their weekend series last week in Los Angeles, topping nationally-ranked Washington, but falling to Washington State on Saturday. Darren Collison currently leads the Bruins in scoring, averaging 15.0 ppg.

 

Cal-UCLA Series History
UCLA won all three meetings against Cal last season, including a second-round matchup in the Pac-10 Tournament. UCLA also won the first meeting this season in Los Angeles, 81-66. The Bears last victory over the Bruins came in the 2007 conference tournament when the Bears emerged victorious in overtime, 76-69. UCLA leads the all-time series, 130-94.

 

UCLA Head Coach Ben Howland
Ben Howland has led the Bruins to back-to-back-to-back Pac-10 titles (2006-08) and back-to-back-to-back Final Four appearances (2006-08). He has won more games in a three-year span (97 from 2006-08) than any other coach in UCLA history.
Probable Starters

Pos	No	Name	                Ht	Wt	Yr	Ppg	Rpg
F	03 	Josh Shipp	        6-5	220	Sr	13.0	2.8
F	41 	Nikola Dragovic	        6-9	216	Jr	8.8	3.7
C	12 	Alfred Aboya	        6-9	245	Sr	9.9	6.0
G	02 	Darren Collison	        6-0	160	Sr	15.0	2.2
G	21 	Jrue Holiday	        6-3	180	Fr	9.1	3.8

CRN talks at a b-ball game about stealing Hasiak from us:

UCLA v. Arizona:

CBH talks about loss:

UCLA v. ASU:

Recap of that game:

Here are some highlights of their game against USC:

Let's take a look at one of their best players, AA.  Sorry, no legend will be provided during the course of this YTT.  You will have to figure out who is who:

And here's some video on JH, the phenom:

And more about JH:

Let's get some hot DC lovin'

Joe Shipp has at least one little brother!  And he plays for UCLA.  His name is JS:

Their first possession of the year, apparently:

Blargh, I had a whole thing written up about Lalo Schifrin, Argentina's greatest Jew, but then SBN blasted it all.  Ugh.  So, long story short, Lalo Schifrin, who has composed some great soundtracks including Mission Impossible, is good.  Listen to this Jazz Suite: