Did USC and UCLA get a little punchy?

USC's Daniel Hackett appeared to be jawing at UCLA's Drew Gordon so much before he got elbowed in the face, one reporter joked that it was a self-inflicted wound. Hackett was more energized than usual after the run-in with the freshman forward. It helped USC when he was waving his arms in the air to pump up the crowd. It helped UCLA when he overran his man on defense and gave up an easy look at the basket.

After the game, Coach USC coach Tim Floyd didn't want to comment on the incident. "That's not the story of the game," he told reporters. "The story of the game is we got beat." Of course, the moment is bound to wind up on YouTube and will be a hot button issue on Internet message boards. And in articles. And more articles.

"It was nothing, just basketball. You're going to have times like that," said UCLA senior point guard Darren Collison. Gordon "always plays clean. He doesn't ever play dirty in practice. He's a good teammate."

Hackett didn't want to make a story out of it, either, and had nothing but nice words for his opponents. "I know Drew. He's going to be a heck of a player."

"It's a rivalry. It's the beauty of the game," he continued. "Lakers-Celtics, people get thrown on the ground. USC-UCLA, people get hit in the face. It's no big deal."

-- Adam Rose
Photo: Daniel Hackett and Michael Roll tangled when UCLA visited USC. Credit: David Zentz/AP.