Sports
USC dismisses Arizona upset and instead focuses on sparking a Pac-12 tournament run
Andy Enfield wasn’t greatly moved by a great win. The USC coach shrugged off the Trojans’ first victory over a top-five team since 2008.
“We’ve won a lot of games against good teams over the years,” Enfield told reporters after the Trojans shocked then-No. 5 Arizona at Galen Center on Saturday.
The win ended USC’s six-game losing streak in the series and signaled the start of a bigger mission. Needing a miraculous conference championship run to earn their fourth consecutive NCAA bid, the Trojans hope to carry the momentum into the Pac-12 tournament beginning Wednesday at 12 p.m. against eighth-seeded Washington at T-Mobile Arena.
The No. 9 seed Trojans (14-17, 8-12 Pac-12) are on a season-long three-game winning streak but face a daunting task in Las Vegas. Since the conference expanded in 2012, only two teams — Colorado in 2012 and Oregon in 2019 — have managed to win four games in four days to steal the Pac-12 title.
“I don’t think we can take our foot off the pedal,” junior guard Kobe Johnson told reporters Saturday, “because we still got four more games to win.”
Here are three things to watch for USC in the tournament:
Peaking at the right time
USC guard Isaiah Collier (1) celebrates after scoring on a breakaway dunk against Arizona on Saturday.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
With the healthy roster they always imagined, the Trojans are averaging 75.9 points during their last 10 games with a 6-4 record. Three of the losses went to overtime or came down to a single possession.
Freshman guard Isaiah Collier’s return from a broken hand has largely fueled the resurgence. The 19-year-old who was named to the conference’s all-freshman team Tuesday is averaging almost 18 points since returning from a six-game absence. Just as important is his improving assist-to-turnover ratio: 1.8 assists to every turnover in the last six games compared to 1.1 before the injury.
Injuries to Collier and Boogie Ellis (hamstring) helped players such as Johnson and forward DJ Rodman build confidence while filling larger roles, and with the star guards back, “it’s all just putting the pieces together,” Johnson said.
The plan came together perfectly last weekend. Ellis powered the Trojans to a win against the Arizona State by scoring 20 of his 28 points in the second half. Then when the fifth-year guard struggled on offense against the Wildcats, Johnson and Rodman stepped in, scoring 19 points each to show the depth USC needs to make a long run in Las Vegas.
“It shows,” Johnson said, “that we can compete with anybody.”
Rodman quickly jumped in: “We can beat anyone.”
X-factor
USC guard Bronny James (6) and forward Harrison Hornery (30) celebrate with fans after the team’s win over Arizona Saturday at the Galen Center.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Bronny James has made one three-pointer in the last six games, and he made it count. The freshman’s step-back three at the end of the first half against Arizona gave the Trojans an emotional boost and four-point lead over the Wildcats. James has faded in and out on offense while adjusting to the college game and recovering from a sudden cardiac arrest suffered last summer but enters the postseason with momentum from a five-point, six-rebound performance against Arizona.
“This,” Enfield told reporters, “is the best he’s played in a while.”
Enfield praised the off-the-bench play from James, who also had a career-high six rebounds, and sophomore Vincent Iwuchukwu as a reason for USC’s upset win. It’s the type of lift the Trojans have been waiting for on a roster of mostly young players and veterans expected to step into larger roles.
Iwuchukwu, who had four points and two rebounds while battling Arizona center Oumar Ballo, is averaging 5.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. The former five-star prospect’s USC career has been marred by medical scares and injuries from a cardiac arrest two summers ago to offseason back surgery this season. The 7-foot-1 forward has yet to have an offseason dedicated purely to improving his game.
“He’s still a developing big man,” Enfield said last month. “He has a lot of upside in his game still. And we think he’s going to be a terrific player.”
The road ahead
USC guard Boogie Ellis drives to the basket as he is guarded by Arizona’s Kylan Boswell on Saturday at Galen Center. The Trojans won and could face the Wildcats again during the Pac-12 tournament.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
USC’s confidence-boosting win on senior night set up a potential rematch with top-seeded Arizona in the quarterfinals Thursday. The Trojans needed the victory to force a multiteam tiebreaker for ninth place in the conference standings with Arizona State and Stanford. USC’s 3-1 record against California, Utah and Washington — who were all tied for sixth place — boosted the Trojans to the No. 9 seed.
Washington (17-14, 9-11 Pac-12) is coming off its own marquee victory, upsetting rival Washington State in Pullman for its first ranked road win since 2017. Pac-12 sixth man of the year Koren Johnson led the Huskies with 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to save head coach Mike Hopkins’ job. A day after the victory, the school announced it will not retain Hopkins after the end of the season.
If the Trojans knock off Washington for a second time this month — following USC’s 82-75 win in Seattle on March 2 — they’ll have a rematch with Arizona. The regular-season champion Wildcats, who earned a first-round bye, have never lost consecutive games under third-year coach Tommy Lloyd.
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Austin Reaves nearing return for Lakers as Luka Doncic remains out indefinitely with hamstring strain: report
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In early April, with just five games remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that star guard Luka Doncic would be sidelined at least until the NBA playoffs.
Doncic’s setback was a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, an MRI confirmed. The reigning NBA scoring champion sustained the injury during an April 2 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Lakers also entered the playoffs without another key member of their backcourt, Austin Reaves.
The shorthanded Lakers upset the Houston Rockets in the opening game of their first-round Western Conference series Saturday. Ahead of Game 2 on Tuesday, the Lakers reportedly received a clearer update on the health of at least one of their injured stars.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves brings the ball up court against the Washington Wizards in Los Angeles on March 30, 2026. (Ryan Sun/AP)
Reaves, who was diagnosed with an oblique strain, appears to be progressing toward a return later in the first-round series if it extends to six or seven games. If the Lakers advance sooner, he could be on track to return for the Western Conference semifinals.
According to ESPN, Reaves recently returned to the practice court for 1-on-1 drills. The 27-year-old will still need to progress to 2-on-3 and then 5-on-5 work before he can be cleared for playoff action, but he appears significantly further along than Doncic, who remains out indefinitely.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers controls the ball against the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center on March 21, 2026. (Nathan Ray Seebeck/Imagn Images)
Doncic is unlikely to play in the first round, regardless of the series length. ESPN footage showed him on the practice court on Tuesday, though the six-time All-Star was not doing high-intensity work.
2025-26 NBA PLAYOFF ODDS: SPREADS, LINES FOR FIRST-ROUND SERIES
The Rockets, despite being widely favored in the opening round playoffs series, also contended with key injuries. Kevin Durant missed Game 1 with a knee contusion. He was cleared to play in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
Houston Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. shoots the ball against the Lakers during Game 1 in the NBA playoffs at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on April 18, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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LeBron James scored 19 points, while Luke Kennard led Los Angeles with 27 in Saturday’s win.
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Watching junior right-hander Fabian Bravo of Sun Valley Poly High pitch for the first time, there was something strangely familiar about his windup.
When he turned his back to reveal he was wearing No. 32, everything made sense.
He had to be a fan of Sandy Koufax, the 1960s Hall of Fame left-hander for the Dodgers.
Two friends sitting next to me refused to believe it.
“No way,” one said.
“Kids today have never heard of Sandy Koufax,” another piped in.
Only after Bravo threw a three-hit shutout to beat North Hollywood 3-0 was my belief vindicated.
“I come into the back with my arms and it’s a little bit like a Sandy Koufax kind of thing,” he said. “I wear 32 too. He was the starting pitcher for the Dodgers and was good in the World Series.”
Koufax was perfect-game good on Sept. 9, 1965, against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium, striking out 14.
Bravo started learning about No. 32 when his parents would bring him to Dodger Stadium as a young boy.
“I always saw No. 32 retired on the wall,” he said. “Once I got to know him, I was able to see who he really was. I felt I could really copy him and get myself deeper into history.”
Bravo is no Koufax in terms of being a power pitcher. He’s 5 feet 10 and 140 pounds. Since last season, when he changed his windup to briefly emulate Koufax’s arms going above his head, he has a 12-3 record. This season he’s 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA.
“I saw his windup and he looked like he was calm and composed and I tried it. I felt more of a rhythm. I was able to calm down and pitch better,” he said.
After Bravo’s arms go up over his head in his windup, he also does a brief hesitation breathing in and out before throwing the ball toward home plate.
“My dad always taught me to breathe in, breathe out before I do anything,” he said.
Nowadays, teenagers seemingly don’t pay much attention to greats of the past, from old ballplayers to Hall of Fame coaches. Ask someone if they know John Wooden, kids today probably don’t. He did win 10 NCAA basketball titles coaching for UCLA. And who was Don Drysdale? Only a Dodger Hall of Fame pitcher alongside Koufax from Van Nuys High.
Bravo is fortunate he’s seen Dodger broadcasts mentioning Koufax at the stadium and on TV, motivating him to learn more, which led to seeing his windup on YouTube.
His older brother also wore No. 32, so no one was getting that uniform number other than a Bravo brother at Poly.
There is another Bravo set to arrive in the fall. Julian Bravo will be a freshman left-handed pitcher and wants No. 32.
“While I’m there he’s going to have to find a new number,” Fabian Bravo said.
Julian might also want to help his big brother gain a few pounds at the dinner table.
“My brother takes food from me,” he said.
As for recognizing Bravo’s Koufax connection, it was No. 32 that provided the clue. How many pitchers in the 1970s were choosing No. 32? A lot. And it’s great to see a 17-year-old in 2026 paying tribute to one of the greatest pitchers ever.
Emulating Koufax is hard, but forgetting him is unforgivable.
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Eli Manning retired in 2019 and missed out in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 2025. He was passed over again earlier this year but still fired back at a fan who claimed one of his contemporaries was the better quarterback.
On Tuesday, a social media user floated a theory about former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, who now oversees football operations as the team’s president, last played in an NFL game in 2022. He announced his retirement in 2024, making him eligible for Hall of Fame consideration beginning in 2028.
“Matt Ryan was a better QB than Eli Manning… people just worship rings. Agree or nah,” the post read.
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New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning greets Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan after their game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Oct. 22, 2018. (Jason Getz/USA TODAY Sports)
Manning caught wind of the suggestion and weighed in, pointing to the two Super Bowl-winning teams he was part of during his standout run with the New York Giants.
“I will ponder this while I play with my rings…,” Manning wrote in a quote-tweet.
Ryan’s statistical production surpasses Manning’s, at least on paper. He was named NFL MVP in 2016, an honor Manning never earned. Ryan is also the most accomplished player in Falcons history and finished his career with more than 62,000 regular-season passing yards, compared with Manning’s 57,023.
NFC head coach Eli Manning leads a huddle during a practice session before the NFL Pro Bowl at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Both quarterbacks were selected to four Pro Bowls, but the key difference lies in championships. Manning won the Super Bowl in 2007 and 2011, while Ryan reached it once but fell short. Manning threw for a single season career-best 4,933 during the run leading up to the second Super Bowl title.
Ryan threw for 284 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions to help the Falcons build a 25-point lead in the championship game — a matchup remembered for the New England Patriots engineering the largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan passes the ball against the Buffalo Bills during the second half at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 2022. (Rich Barnes/USA TODAY Sports)
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The Falcons have reached the Super Bowl twice in franchise history, first in 1998, but the team is still chasing its first elusive championship.
The Giants marked their 100th season in 2024, winning four Super Bowls over the franchise’s century-long history.
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Sun Valley Poly High’s Fabian Bravo shows flashes of Koufax dominance