Washington 78, USC 73

This had all the indications you need to claim it was fixed -- and normally I would never say something like this because I respect the integrity of the game. However, in the first half USC shot five free throws to Washington's 11. Not too bad, right? The refs were letting both teams play very physical basketball. What happened in the second half? USC shot 12 free throws, only 7 more than they shot in the first half. Washington, on the other hand, shot 29 free throws in the second half, 18 more than they shot in the first half. So, in the end the Huskies shot 23 more free throws than the Trojans. That is almost as lopsided a differential as the game at ASU last year, when the differential was 28 in favor of ASU in terms of free throws shot. Tim Floyd had to file a complaint to the league after that game, and I'm sure he'll be filing a similar one when he gets back home. Was USC that much less aggressive in the second half, or did the referees simply change the way they were calling the game? It is clearly the later. USC still went to the basket aggressively, as did Washington. The Huskies got the fouls called, the Trojans didn't. Simple as that. I don't have a problem if you want to call a lot of fouls (even though I usually prefer a more physical style) -- but then you have to call them the whole damn game and for both damn teams!!! Another point: The spread for this game was -6 for Washington and the Huskies won by five.

Were a lot of people betting on Washington with the points? Probably, because they were playing at home and they were 4-1 coming in, and the Trojans didn't have Dwight Lewis. Maybe others were betting on the Trojans to win straight up? Quite possibly USC fans were. Think the refs looked at the line at the half? I have no proof of it, but it wouldn't surprise me in a sport where there have already been betting scandals. It must go on a lot more than people think.

The thing that irked me most about the officiating was the number of charging calls on the Trojans. Keith Wilkinson and Daniel Hackett were both called for absolutely ridiculous charging violations when the defender was clearly late getting into position. In Wilkinson's case, his layup should have counted and he should have got a free throw out of it. In Hackett's case, he should of had a one-and-one because the Huskies were over the limit at the time. The worst call of the game, however, had to be the technical foul on Leonard Washington. Two Huskies players are going for the rebound under the rim, Leonard jumps up and realized that he will come down on top of the Huskies players, so he grabs onto the rim to avoid them. That is perfectly within the rules. Then, immediately after the players leave the area, Washington comes down from the rim. Yet, he still received a technical for hanging on the rim. Unreal. The Pac-10 should really take more pride in hiring better officials. They say they are the "conference of champions", but with the officiating we have in this conference, you have to wonder how legitimate our champions even are. This was a critical Pac-10 game between two very good teams, and the officials bailed out the team that shot 10% worse from the field and had 6 less field goals than the other team. Wow.

As for USC's season as a whole, it seems that they just can't get everyone healthy. I think this is why they haven't strung together three or more wins in a row in conference yet. They had a chance last night, but it's tough when you're four men down (the three refs and Dwight Lewis). In all seriousness, if the Trojans get Lewis back on the court next week and they don't have any more injuries, they will definitely make a run at some point because from what I've seen so far, they have the most talented starting five in the Pac-10. Last year, they probably had the second best starting five to UCLA, but didn't play very good team basketball. I thought that while they did turn the ball over far too much last night, they played very well together without their leading scorer, and really showed a lot of grit. Now the question is, how much grit do they really have? They have to go to Wazzu tomorrow and win, even without Dwight Lewis. They are the more talented team with or without Lewis, and they have to pick up this road win because their remaining five road games are all tough (UCLA, Arizona schools, and Bay Area schools). Nearly every NCAA tournament team makes a run in conference play at some point. Last year, the Trojans won five out of their last six conference games. This year, that run can start tomorrow with a win and continue next week at home when Dwight Lewis gets back.