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To say UCLA-USC was an ugly game would be kind

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Mike Miller

If you missed UCLA’s 55-40 win against USC because you were watching the Big East tournament, the Northeast title game or an Oprah replay, you made the correct decision. There wasn’t much worth watching.

Sticking with this theme, both teams missed shots – UCLA made 33.9 percent of its FG attempts; USC hit just 28.8 percent – too.

Is that why Bruins center Josh Smith was late for the team bus? Or why there were so few people at the Staples Center to watch the two local teams in their Pac-12 tournament opener? Because they knew it wouldn’t be basketball worth watching?

Heck, maybe that’s why UCLA sleepwalked its way through the first half (22 points) and then humbled the Trojans in the second half.

ANYWAY, UCLA (19-13) now advances to the tournament quarterfinals to face Arizona, two teams with slim hopes of making the NCAA tournament without winning the automatic bid. With Wildcats suspending starting point guard Josiah Turner, it might be yet another ugly game.

The upside from all of this? USC is out of its season-long misery. At 6-26, that’s a record for number of losses in a season.

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.