Trojans, Pac-10 Get What They Deserve

That's exactly what USC and the Pac-10 got from the NCAA selection committee on Sunday. Coming off its worst loss of the season to Oregon in the Pac-10 title game, USC found itself with a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament East bracket, one of six Pac-10 teams to get the nod.

"It's a great feeling," junior guard Nick Young said. "My stomach was turning. I thought we were going to be a six or seven. When the fifth seed came up, that was unbelievable."

Young wasn't the only one expecting the Trojans to be seeded lower. The buzz around the Staples Center on Saturday was that USC had lost some footing after its 81-57 loss to the Ducks.

And when the announcement came on the big screen courtside at the Galen Center, the Trojans looked genuinely excited. It wasn't one of those obligatory `hey, the CBS cameras are here so we have to look happy just that we're in the tournament' kind of cheers. They looked really stoked.

But after taking a deeper look at the big picture, it shouldn't be a surprise that USC and the Pac-10 got so much love from the selection committee (despite UCLA having the best No. 1-seed snub argument). The committee sent a clear message on Sunday that they weren't interested in knee-jerk reactions to one game.

The Trojans were rewarded for their full body of work, which includes a third-place regular season conference finish with regular-season sweeps over tourney-bound Arizona and Pac-10 Tournament champion Oregon. Mix in some wins over Washington State and Stanford, and USC has a number of notches on its belt.

USC's seeding stacks up with the other regions as well. Of the other No. 5 seeds from major conferences, Virginia Tech finished in third place during the ACC regular season and Tennessee finished in third place in the SEC East. With the SEC West being a non-factor this year, that pretty much adds up to a third-place finish overall.

So the Trojans weren't penalized for Saturday's big loss. They were rewarded for getting as far as they did in a tough conference. Oregon was certainly rewarded for its big tournament performance, landing a No. 3-seed after finishing in fourth place during the Pac-10 regular season. Stanford was rewarded as well, earning a No. 11 seed after a first-round tournament loss put them squarely on the bubble.

The Trojans showed a little Pac-10 pride during the broadcast, giving a cheer when Stanford was the very last team announced during the Sunday broadcast.

As for its own draw, USC heads north to Spokane, Wash. to face No. 12-seed Arkansas, one of the last teams to get an at-large bid. Coach Tim Floyd and his players admittedly know little about their first-round opponent, but with their Friday start, get an extra day to prepare.

"Our coaches will get on the phone with some of our friends around the country that can familiarize us with some of Arkansas' strengths and their weaknesses so we can have a plan in place to go practice tomorrow," Floyd said.

One potential second-round opponent Trojans are familiar with is No. 4 seed Texas, which faces New Mexico State in the first round.

Senior guard Lodrick Stewart gave the standard disciplined response of not looking ahead, but even Floyd couldn't help but notice a potential game with all-everything Longhorn forward Kevin Durant on the other side.

"I haven't seen New Mexico State play," Floyd said. "I have watched Texas and we know that they have one of the great players that's been in college basketball in a long time."

He caught himself before going too far though.

"We can't concern ourselves with that right now," Floyd continued. "Our concern is Arkansas... We've got to get ready to play a strong, strong Arkansas team."

However USC performs once tournament play begins, this season is already a success. With a top-20 recruiting class coming next season, Tim Floyd's third at the helm, next season was supposed to be the Trojans' breakout year.

Realizing where they stand, the USC players, none of whom have been to the NCAA Tournament before, seem to have put Saturday's ugly loss behind them. All the players that spoke with the media looked giddy and spoke of how excited they were and what a good feeling it was to get the bid.

Floyd didn't do or say anything to temper that - at least not today.

"It gives everybody something to look forward to," Floyd said. "That's particularly important for us coming off of the effort that we had yesterday... We'll get them back to earth tomorrow. They can take the pats on the back today, but we've got a lot of work to do to get back to guarding people."

Floyd is right about that -- especially if one of those people ends up being Durant.

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