LOS ANGELES – The USC men’s basketball team which went 21-12 and made the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, held its annual awards banquet Monday night (March 24) in the Founders Club at the Galen Center.

The Trojans posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the fi rst time since the 2001-02 seasons and their 63 wins over the last three seasons is the most in a three-year period in school history. USC was a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Regional in the 2008 NCAA Tournament and was
defeated in the fi rst round by Kansas State and Player of the Year candidate Michael Beasley, 80-67. The Trojans tied for third place in the conference with an 11-7 record.

* Freshman O.J. Mayo was named the team MVP as he led USC with a 20.7 average and set the school freshman record for points in a season (684) and three-point baskets made (88). His point total ranks second all-time by a Trojan in a single season (Harold Miner -789 in 1992) and
his three-point baskets made are third best all-time in a single season by a Trojan.

* Sophomore Taj Gibson led USC with 259 rebounds and set the school single-season record for blocks with 84. His two-year total of 153 blocks already places him second on USC’s all-time blocked shots list, trailing only Sam Clancy’s four-year total of 195.

Here's the list of award winners:

* Sam Barry Award -- MVP: O.J. Mayo (20.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 40.9 3-pt%, 684 points, 88 three-pointers)

* Joe Barbato Award -- Top FT Percentage: Daniel Hackett (82.3 percent, 8.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg)

* Dr. James Zumberge Award -- Top GPA: Keith Wilkinson (3.0, Communications, Journalism & Related Studies)

* John Rudometkin Award -- 110% Effort: Taj Gibson (58.0 FG%, 10.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 88 blocks)

* Tom Kimmel Award -- Top 6th Man: Angelo Johnson

* Ernie Holbrook Award -- Most Inspirational: Daniel Hackett (8.6 ppg, 94 assists, 82.3 FT %, 34 steals)

* Coaches Award: Dwight Lewis (10.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 31 3-pointers, 24 steals)

* Top Rebounder Award:Taj Gibson (7.8 rpg, 259 total)

* UCLA’s 33 wins are a school record. The old mark was 32, set in 1995 and tied in 2006.
* UCLA and Memphis are the only two schools to reach the NCAA Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons.
* This is the 31st time UCLA will be playing in the Round of 16.
* UCLA’s 78 points allowed in the first two NCAA Tournament games is the lowest total for the first two games of a Tournament since 1949, when Oklahoma State allowed just 69 in its first two games.
* Kevin Love’s 621 points rank No. 20 on UCLA’s season list and are the most since 1998, when J.R. Henderson scored 626.
* Kevin Love’s 382 rebounds rank No. 9 on the season list, just two behind No. 8 Sidney Wicks (384 in 1971).
* Darren Collison’s three-point percentage of .516 is the best in school history for one season.
* Russell Westbrook’s 1,214 minutes rank No. 2 for a season since minutes started being recorded in 1979.

We now have further explanation (rationalization?) from the officials about the events leading up to Trent Johnson's first-half ejection, a rarity for an NCAA Tournament game.

This was referee Curtis Shaw's post-game statement, as disseminated to the media:

Why wasn't the coach allowed on the floor during a media timeout?

"A timeout doesn't begin until we report it. We had never called a timeout. We had a foul, followed by a technical foul for being out of the box, and as my partner came out to tell me what we had, he (Johnson) then continued out, so the timeout had never been granted.

"During a timeout, coaches are allowed to stay in the vicinity of their bench. They are not allowed to walk out on the floor and continue to complain. He was warned in the first half visibly with a 'stop' signal. 'Trent, that's enough.' "

On the first technical:

"It was a combination of complaining about the call while he's out of the coaches' box."

My interpretation: How often do coaches -- and officials -- anticipate a media timeout, which occurs at the first stoppage after the 16-minute, 12-minute, eight-minute and four-minute marks? Often, it's the timekeeper who signals the mandatory timeout by blowing the horn. Again, I'm not really buying Shaw's explanation.

But Johnson essentially took the high road, taking responsibility for the situation.

www.ncaasports.com

The ejection of Stanford head coach Trent Johnson turned out to be a mere footnote by the end of the Cardinal's 82-81 overtime victory over Marquette, a game decided on Brook Lopez' inside basket with 1.3 seconds left.

(And for those who saw the trajectory of the shot, remembered Josh Shipp's over-the-board game-winner for UCLA against Cal a couple of weeks ago and wondered about its legality, Lopez said after Saturday's game that while his body was behind the plane of the backboard, his shooting hand wasn't.)

It was quite a comeback for Stanford, which trailed 65-59 with six minutes to play but got big production from Brook Lopez down the stretch. Lopez scored 10 of Stanford's last 12 points in regulation and eight of its 11 overtime points, en route to a 30-point night. His twin, Robin Lopez, finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.

Did the in-game coaching change have an effect? Well, Doug Oliver, who took over the team when Johnson was ejected, almost blew this one by keeping both Lopez twins out for extended minutes in the second half, and not bringing Robin Lopez back in until 2:25 remained in regulation.

Aside from that, he's 1-0 as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament, so hurray for him.

-- Jim Alexander
jalexander@PE.com

The two quick technicals that were assessed Stanford coach Trent Johnson late in the first half, leading to his ejection, were something relatively unprecedented for NCAA Tournament play -- at least, I don't remember ever seeing a coach kicked out of a tourney game in the first half.

What made it doubly strange: Johnson got the first technical for arguing a call. The second, as one of the officials specifically told the official scorer, was in response to Johnson coming onto the floor.

Yet a media timeout had just been called. Coaches always come onto the floor during a timeout. And Johnson didn't appear to be woofing any further, or charging the officials, or doing anything unduly threatening.

This was the official statement disseminated by the NCAA, ostensibly from the officiating crew of Curtis Shaw, David Hall and Patrick Evans:

"With 3:36 left in the first half of today's second-round game in Anaheim between Stanford University and Marquette University, Stanford Head Coach Trent Johnson received two technical fouls for unsportsmanlike behavior. Specifically, he was out on the playing floor, and out of the coach's box, disputing calls. The first technical foul was assessed by David Hall. After Coach Johnson failed to comply with instructions to return to the Stanford bench, a second technical foul was assessed by Curtis Shaw, resulting in Coach Johnson's ejection from the game."

My translation: They made an error in judgment ejecting him, so they're going to pretend that TV timeout didn't exist.

Interestingly, Marquette was called for seven fouls to Stanford's one in the first 6:49 of the second half, during which the Cardinal re-took the lead. Coincidence, or makeup calls?

-- Jim Alexander
jalexander@PE.com

It's a waiting game here today. A wait for the survivors from Thursday's NCAA Tournament games, who had closed practices and media sessions today in anticipation of tomorrow's second-round matchups (in this case, Kansas-UNLV and Kansas State-Wisconsin). And a wait for us P-E correspondents, who couldn't get a flight out until tomorrow morning.

So, some highlights from today's media conferences at Qwest Center:

The Trojans season comes to a quick end in a first-round Midwest Regional game at Omaha.

Is this how it will end for super freshman O.J. Mayo?

This isn't what anyone had in mind when they mention one-and-done.

Jeffrey Parenti
jparenti@pe.com

As badly as USC is being manhandled up front, the Trojans are the only team with a front-line player in foul trouble -- Taj Gibson with three.

For the latest NCAA Tourney info, go to: www.ncaa.com

Here's how badly.

USC has 11 rebounds in trailing 37-27 at halftime.

Kansas State has 12 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS at the half in outboarding the Trojans 20-11.

The Wildcats are playing like Bob Huggins is still here and it's last year and they're just taking it to a young, immature, hesitant USC team the way KSU did in December a season ago.

But that USC team had more than two months left to learn from that lesson and improve.

This USC team has 20 minutes.

Nothing USC has done the first half would seem to indicate they can. But if they do, it wouldn't be the first time they managed to make an improbable run after the buzzer.

For the latest NCAA Tourney info, go to: www.ncaa.com

The other team is USC.

Not good for the Trojans, down 16-11, although in the bonus, with 11:26 left in the first half. The way USC is running its offense and shooting the ball, if they hit one of two free throws, they're on a hot dtreak.

Menawhile, KSU, despite sitting out both Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, his hit three threes and shooting without a conscience.

For more NCAA info, check www.ncaa.com

Something for UCLA and USC fans. But not everything.

O.J. Mayo a first-team pick at guard based on the way he played, and basically outplayed, every other All-American candidate such as Derrick Rose of Memphis and Jerryd Bayless of Arizona that he faced except for his second UCLA game that had Mayo limited by a groin pull.

Of course, Kevin Love is also first-team here with a late-charging Darren Collison finishing on the second team. An injury free year might have made the difference for Darren but Texas point guard D.J. Augustin has had a sensational season.

Had Stanford's Brook Lopez and Cal's Ryan Anderson second-team and Bayless third-team.

For Player of the Year, I was tempted to go with Love, but in the end, after deciding right away not to go with UNC's Tyler Hansbrough, tabbed KSU's Beasley the numbers he racked up in a good league.

Coach of the Year went away from where I'd have been thinking earlier but give it to Pac-10 Coach of the Year Trent Johnson, his veteran club still doesn't have a point guard and this year he figured out how to coach around that. Now if only he can carry it on through to the NCAA Tournament this time around.

For the latest in official NCAA Tournament info, go to www.ncaa.com.

ALL-AMERICA TEAMS


FIRST TEAM

Kevin Love, UCLA

Michael Beasley, Kansas State

Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina

O.J. Mayo, USC

D.J. Augustin, Texas


SECOND TEAM

Ryan Anderson, Cal

Brook Lopez, Stanford

Luke Harangody, Notre Dame

Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis

Darren Collison, UCLA


THIRD TEAM

Tyler Smith,Tennessee

D.J. White, Indiana

Roy Hibbert, Georgetown

Jerryd Bayless, Arizona

Stephen Curry, Davidson


PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Beasley, Kansas State

COACH OF THE YEAR: Trent Johnson, Stanford


DAN WEBER
dweber@pe.com