February 18, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans coach Eric Musselman and guard Aliyah Arenas (0) react during the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Gallen Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images UCLA is cruising and Southern California is in turmoil as its Los Angeles rivals square off in the regular season finale Saturday night on the USC campus.
The Bruins (20-10, 12-7 Big Ten) have won three of their last four games, including their most recent matchup against USC, an 81-62 win at home on Feb. 24.
Donovan Dent led UCLA with 30 points and eight assists as part of the Trojans’ sixth straight loss (18-12, 7-12). USC saw its NCAA Tournament aspirations all but evaporate as the departure of leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara exacerbated the team’s problems.
Baker-Mazara lost 82-67 to then-No. Feb 28 12 After a bad fall at Nebraska, I sat in the stands right next to the bench. The next day, the university announced that Baker-Mazara, its leading scorer with an average of 18.5 points per game, was no longer with the program and did not provide a further explanation.
The Los Angeles Times later reported that Baker-Mazara was fired due to “more than one” incident.
With him out of the lineup, USC fell 91-72 at Washington on Wednesday. Alijah Arenas’ 19 points and Ezra Ausar’s 17 points and 11 rebound double-double led the Trojans.
Many of the supporting cast in the rotation, already dealing with a rash of injuries, have struggled, contributing to the lull that has plagued USC of late.
“We’ve got to put 40 minutes together,” Trojans coach Eric Musselman said, via USCtrojans.com. “We can’t play for 20, 24 minutes.”
Meanwhile, UCLA defeated No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 on Wednesday, successfully entering the top 10 for the second time in 11 days. The Bruins were previously ranked No. 1 at the time. No. 10 Illinois in an overtime thriller on Feb. 21 from 1995-94.
And while USC’s roster lost a member, UCLA benefited from the return of Skyy Clark, who was sidelined for six weeks due to a hamstring injury suffered on Jan. 3.
“It’s great,” said Trent Perry, who shares the backcourt with Clark and Dent. “You can see how the ball moves. Dribble drives, drives, kicks, it creates gaps in the drive lanes. Of course, seeing Eric (Dailey Jr.) and Tyler (Bilodeau) stretch the floor is amazing.”
–Field level media
