Just three days after upsetting No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime in buzzer-beating fashion, UCLA men’s basketball (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) will turn its head to Tuesday night, where it will face USC (18-9, 7-9) at Pauley Pavilion for the first crosstown rivalry matchup of the 2025-26 season. The Bruins swept the Trojans last year for the first time in coach Mick Cronin’s tenure at UCLA. Daily Bruin Sports editor Connor Dullinger breaks down the Trojans’ strengths and weaknesses ahead of the matchup.
Personnel:
Coach: Eric Musselman
Starting lineup: Guard Kam Woods, Guard Alijah Arenas, Guard/Forward Chad Baker-Mazara, Forward Jacob Cofie, Forward Ezra Ausar
Best player: Chad Baker-Mazara
X-factor: Ezra Ausar
KenPom ranking: No. 57
Adjusted offensive rating: 115 (No. 91)
Adjusted defensive rating: 101.6 (No. 43)
Adjusted tempo: 70.5 (No. 30)
The Bruins have swept the Trojans just once across the last seven seasons, and this year may be the most important to repeat last season’s results.
Every win improves UCLA’s resume for the NCAA tournament, and even though the Bruins have an 85% chance of making March Madness, every loss makes the water murkier, either decreasing their chance of earning a bid or setting up a less favorable bracket.
If UCLA is going to take leg one of the Battle for LA, it starts with stopping guard/forward Chad Baker-Mazara.
The Trojan guard/forward leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game. missed three consecutive games from Feb 3. To Feb. 18 due to injury, but he dropped 21 points and four rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting from the field in his return on Feb. 21.
Baker-Mazara, an Auburn transfer, is an elite 3-point shooter, having maintained a 37%-plus clip each season of his five-year collegiate career. His 37.2% mark this season is the worst of his college campaign, but he is also playing the most minutes and taking the most shots of his career this season, with 29.9 minutes and 13 shots per game.
The offense runs through Baker-Mazara – particularly after Rodney Rice sustained a season-ending injury just six games into the season – and because of his ball-handling duties, he often shoots off the dribble or comes off down screens to free himself up in space.
And while most shooters struggle to be efficient on the move or off the dribble, it seems like Baker-Mazara prefers it, as it allows him to play in rhythm.
Baker-Mazara plays the majority of his offensive sets with his right shoulder into the on-ball defender, allowing him to protect the ball as a lefty and giving him space to shoot the ball over defenders if he chooses to drive or attempt a step-back jumper.
His greatest athletic gift is his length and slender frame.
Baker-Mazara is a thin 6-foot-7, and uses his long arms and legs to beat defenders off the dribble and convert floaters or layups at the rim over defenders running to contest shots. His height also allows him to dominate around the rim, resulting in 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
Pacing the Trojans in points behind Baker-Mazara is Ezra Ausar. The forward averages 15.7 points per game on an ultra-efficient 59.7% field goal percentage.
Despite standing at just 6-foot-9, Ausar almost exclusively works in the interior, shooting just one 3-pointer so far this season and grabbing 6.4 rebounds per game, which ranks second on the team.
Unlike Baker-Mazara, Ausar uses his brute strength to dominate in the paint, winning box outs and creating space with the seal that allows him to get easy inside baskets. He is a very patient interior presence, getting defenders to jump and using his footwork to not only create space but also to angle around defenders’ contests on shot attempts.
Ausar is also a high-flyer and finishes off alley-oops thrown by Baker-Mazara or other guards in the fast break. Considering his interior strength and tenacity, expect junior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. to battle with him Tuesday night if the Bruins go with their three-guard lineup. Ausar boasts the speed and quickness to keep up with Dailey on the perimeter.
But Ausar’s game is fairly single-faceted, which limits his offensive ceiling. However, Ausar’s stats show that he may be more difficult to stop than his offensive skillset would show.
Finishing off the frontcourt is Jacob Cofie.
Omitting Rice, the forward ranks fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 10 points on 52.9% shooting from the field and 30.8% shooting beyond the arc. Cofie is a fast-twitch, explosive athlete despite his 6-foot-10 stature.
Cofie dominates on the inside, using his springy athleticism to dunk the ball in the paint and relying on his strength to finish through contact. He can also shoot the 3-ball if given space, resulting in his 30.8% clip from deep.
What sets Cofie apart, though, is his rebounding prowess and defensive tenacity. Cofie leads the Trojans in rebounds, steals and blocks, averaging 7.1, 1.1 and 1.7 per game, respectively. The sophomore is a magnet for the ball on the offensive glass, grabbing every loose ball and often putting it back up for an easy flush or lay-up finish.
Defensively, he has the versatility and athleticism to guard from the rim to the 3-point line. His active hands and long arms allow him to deflect passes and hand-offs, usually leading to fast-break Trojan dunks.
Considering Tyler Bilodeau’s offensive prowess, expect Cofie and the Kennewick, Washington, local to battle it out at Pauley Pavilion.
Guards freshmen Alijah Arenas and Kam Woods make up the Trojan backcourt.
The former is a former five-star prospect and ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game. Arenas has inefficient shooting splits, but that could be in large part due to playing just nine games of his true freshman season after battling a meniscus tear.
Despite his inefficient shooting, maintaining a 33.6% mark from the field and 22.7% tally from beyond the arc, Arena is one of the Trojans’ most complete scorers.
In three consecutive games from Feb. 3 to Feb. 11, Arenas scored 29, 24 and 25 points, respectively. Across the stretch, Arenas confidently shot the 3-ball off the dribble and the catch-and-shoot.
But what was most impressive was how he used his ball-handling skills, coupled with his 6-foot-6 frame, to attack the rim over smaller opposing guards, and how he created space with his step-back and pull-up jumpers when defenders guarded him closely on the perimeter.
Any of the guards – senior Skyy Clark, senior Donovan Dent and sophomore Trent Perry – can take Arenas come Tuesday night, but whoever takes him man-to-man could have their hands full if Arenas comes into Pauley hot.
Woods is the last and least proficient of the Trojans’ starters, averaging 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Woods leads all Trojans in assists outside Rice and plays most like the typical, pass-first point guard.
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