NCAA Tournament: #5 USC Looks for Sweet Upset of #1 North Carolina

USC's defeat of No. 11 Texas gives the Trojans a 8-4 record vs. Top 25 teams this season.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The No. 5 seed USC men's basketball team (25-11) will face No. 1 seed North Carolina (30-6) on Friday at the Continental Arena in East Rutherford, N.J. in the East Region semifinals of the 2007 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

The game is scheduled to start 30 minutes following the conclusion of the first East Region semifinal game between Vanderbilt and Georgetown which begins at 7:27 ET.

USC has established a new school record in victories this season with 25.

The previous mark of 24 wins was done four times: 24-2 in 1971, 24-5 in 1974, 24-6 in 1992 and 24-10 in 2001.

TROJANS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

USC is 11-14 all-time in the NCAA tournament (2-0 in 2007), winning five of its last seven games during March Madness.

This is the Trojans' first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since the 2002 season.

That season USC entered as a No. 4 seed and lost 93-89 in overtime to No. 13 seed UNC-Wilmington in Sacramento, Calif.

In 2001, USC advanced to the Elite Eight as a No. 6 seed, defeating Oklahoma State, Boston College and Kentucky, before falling to eventual champion Duke in the regional final.

This is USC's 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament (1940, 1954, 1960, 1961, 1979, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2007).

The farthest the Trojans have gone in the NCAA Tournament is to the semifinals in 1940 and 1954.

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina defeated Michigan State 81-67 in its second-round game on March 17th, as sophomore Tyler Hansbrough scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Hansbrough averages 18.6 points to lead the Tar Heels. North Carolina has won six consecutive games, including the ACC Tournament.

USC is 1-7 all-time against the Tar Heels, winning 74-59 on Dec. 21st last season at the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

North Carolina defeated USC in the 1952, 1955, 1982, 1988, 1997, 2000 and 2005 seasons.

ON DECK

The winner of the USC-UNC game will play on March 25th in East Rutherford, N.J. against the winner of the Vanderbilt-Georgetown game for a spot in the NCAA Final Four being held in Atlanta, March 30th-April 1st.

TROJANS GRAB TEXAS BY THE HORNS, ADVANCE TO SWEET 16

USC defeated Texas 87-68 on March 18th in Spokane, Wash. to advance to the East Region semifinals.

The Trojans never trailed in the game and were last tied at 5-all, before going on a 12-2 run which saw four different players score and three different players get a steal during that stretch.

USC led 34-27 at halftime before Texas cut it to 34-30, 40 seconds into the second half.

The Trojans responded with a 19-3 run, keyed by nine points from junior Nick Young, to take a 53-33 lead with14 minutes left and led by double figures the rest of the way.

Young had 22 points to lead five Trojans in double figures.

Freshmen Daniel Hackett scored a career-high 20 points and Taj Gibson had a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

USC AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD

USC has faced 10 different teams that appeared in the 2007 NCAA Tournament and owns an 11-7 record against them: Arizona (2-0), Arkansas (1-0), George Washington (1-0), Kansas (0-1), Long Beach State (1-0), Oregon (2-1), Stanford (2-1), Texas (1-0), UCLA (0-2) and Washington State (1-2).

RISING UP THROUGH THE RANKS

USC's defeat of No. 11 Texas on March 18th gives it an 8-4 record vs. Top 25 teams this season.

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