Pac-12 secures television rights for 12 years

As reported Wednesday in the Los Angeles Times,  the soon-to-be Pacific 12 (the conference officially grows by two schools with the addition of Colorado and Utah July 1), signed a 12-year, $3-billion television deal with Fox and ESPN, the largest in college conference history, to begin in 2012-2013.

Fox will have the rights to 22 regular-season Pac-12 football games annually; six Pac-12 football championship games (in the even years of the contract in prime time); 22 men's regular-season basketball games; and three men's basketball tournaments (in the even years beginning in 2014). A minimum of eight regular-season football games will be broadcast on over-the-air Fox Sports, at least four of those in prime time. The other 14 games will be on FX, which is available in 99 million homes.

ESPN will get at least 80 Pac-12 events each year, including 22 football games, and will have the football championship game in the odd-numbered years. There will also be a new Saturday 7:30 p.m. PT weekly football game.

Women's Basketball: Stanford defeats UCLA, 64-55, to win Pac-10 tournament

Second-ranked Stanford overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat seventh-ranked UCLA, 64-55, in the championship game of the Pacific Life Pac-10 women's basketball tournament on Saturday at Staples Center.

Stanford (29-2) extended its winning streak against Pac-10 opponents to 57 games and won its eighth tournament title in 10 years.

UCLA (27-4) appeared on the verge of possibly winning the title for the first time since 2006 when the Bruins took a 30-21 halftime lead.

But Stanford, which had not trailed at halftime since a Dec. 19 loss at Tennessee, came back behind freshman guard Toni Kokenis, who scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half.

More later at latimes.com/sports

-- Gary Klein

Photo: UCLA forward Atonye Nyingifa grabs a rebound alongside Stanford forward Chiney Ogwumike in the first half Saturday afternoon at Staples Center. Credit: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Women's basketball: UCLA leads Stanford, 30-21, at halftime of Pac-10 tournament championship game

UCLA did it for 20 minutes.

Can the Bruins hold on for 20 more?

Seventh-ranked UCLA took a 30-21 halftime lead over second-ranked Stanford in the championship game of the Pacific Life Pac-10 women's basketball tournament at Staples Center.

It is the first time that Stanford has trailed at halftime since a Dec. 19 loss at Tennessee. And it could have been an even larger margin for UCLA if the Bruins had capitalized on numerous second chances they created with hustle on the offensive end.

UCLA is playing a scrappy zone defense that has denied Stanford opportunities to get the ball inside to junior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike, who scored 32 points in a semifinal victory over Arizona.

Meantime, UCLA guard's Doreena Campbell (nine points) and Darxia Morris (eight points) are doing an excellent job penetrating to the basket for shots and passes. Forward Markel Walker (five points) also has set up teammates with outstanding interior passing.

More later at latimes.com/sports

-- Gary Klein

USC basketball: Top-seeded Arizona beats fourth-seeded USC, 67-62, advances to Pac-10 final

With its NCAA tournament life on the line, USC was without Coach Kevin O'Neill. 

But the fourth-seeded Trojans, coached by associate head coach Bob Cantu, who hadn't coached a game since 1998, still gave top-seeded Arizona a close game Friday in a Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament semifinal, falling 67-62 at Staples Center. Cantu was filling in for O'Neill, who was suspended by the university on Friday for his involvement in a verbal altercation with an Arizona booster on Thursday night.

No. 16 Arizona (27-6) advances to Saturday's final against the winner of Friday's other semifinal game between seventh-seeded Oregon and third-seeded Washington. Arizona swept Oregon and split two games with Washington this season.

USC trailed, 50-38, midway through the second half before going on an 11-3 run. Arizona responded with a five unanswered point, four of them on consecutive baskets by star sophomore forward Derrick Williams, the Pac-10 player of the year and a one-time USC recruit. 

Then USC scored six straight points before Arizona forward Jamelle Horne hit a three from the right wing. USC's Jio Fontan answered with a layup, but Williams responded with an amazing, two-handed turn-around alley-oop slam on a pass from Solomon Hill with 1:49 left that put Arizona ahead by six points, 63-57.

Fontan hit a three-point jumper with 48 seconds left to make it a three-point game. Williams was fouled with 20.3 seconds left and made both free throws. USC's Donte Smith missed a three on the other end and junior forward Nikola Vucevic added his final basket of the night, a short floater. 

Vucevic had 16 points and 12 rebounds, his 21st double-double of the season. USC senior guard Marcus Simmons scored a career-high 20 points. 

Williams led Arizona with 20 points while teammate Jesse Perry added 11.

USC shot 24 of 55 from the field; Arizona shot 26 of 52.  

USC (19-14) is considered on the bubble for an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, but the Trojans' hopes of such a bid are slim. They're best hope was to win the Pac-10 tournament to secure the conference's automatic berth, or, at the very least, defeat Arizona. 

USC basketball: Top-seeded Arizona leads fourth-seeded USC at halftime, 33-28

Fourth-seeded USC is playing top-seeded Arizona in a Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament semifinal at Staples Center without its head coach, Kevin O'Neill, who was suspended Friday for the remainder of the tournament.

But even without him, and with USC associate head coach Bob Cantu coaching his first game since 1998, the Trojans are hanging tough against the No. 16 Wildcats, who lead at halftime, 33-28. 

The winner advances to Saturday's final against either the winner of Friday's other semifinal game between seventh-seeded Oregon and third-seeded Washington.

The game has been back and forth for most of the first half, with each team making minor runs here and there.

Arizona sophomore forward Derrick Williams, the Pacific 10 Conference player of the year, scored the final bucket of the half on an emphatic two-handed slam just before the buzzer sounded. He has seven points, one short of his total when USC last played Arizona in February. 

USC is surprisingly being led in scoring by senior guard Marcus Simmons, the Pac-10 defensive player of the year, who has 11 points. Simmons' season high is 12 points against New Mexico State on Nov. 21.

Arizona is shooting 12 for 29 (41.4%) from the field and USC is shooting 12 for 22 (54.5%). 

O'Neill's suspension stems from an altercation he and his wife, Roberta, were involved in Thursday night in a hotel lobby with an Arizona booster.  

-- Baxter Holmes

USC basketball: Kevin O'Neill suspended for the rest of the Pac-10 tournament

USC just announced that Trojans Coach Kevin O'Neill is suspended for the rest of the Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament because of a verbal altercation he and his wife were involved in Thursday night at a hotel with a longtime Arizona booster.

This means that O'Neill will not be coaching the fourth-seeded Trojans as they face top-seeded Arizona in a semifinal game Friday night at Staples Center. Associate head coach Bob Cantu will coach the team Friday. If the Trojans win, Cantu will also coach them in the Pac-10 tournament final.

O'Neill was coach at Arizona for one season (2007-08) and is in his second season at USC.

Here's the statement from USC Athletic Director Pat Haden: 

"I have talked to Coach Kevin O'Neill and expressed my disappointment in his involvement in an incident last night in which he and his wife engaged in an argument with a supporter of another school.
 
"We have met with various parties who have knowledge of the incident. Based on the information we have gathered, I am immediately suspending Coach O'Neill for the balance of the Pac-10 Conference Tournament. We also have set forth additional discipline that will remain private. 
 
"Coach O'Neill was remorseful and apologetic and accepted responsibility for his actions. He understood that his actions were unacceptable and that they reflect poorly on him, his team and USC. We hold our coaches to very high standards, as they are role models to the student-athletes they lead. Clearly, Coach O'Neill used poor judgment and failed in this situation.
 

Women's basketball: UCLA advances to Pac-10 tournament final with 63-50 victory over Cal

UCLA's women's basketball team will get another shot at Stanford.

The second-seeded Bruins cruised over California, 63-50, in a semifinal of the Pacific Life Pac-10 tournament at Staples Center to earn their third matchup of the season against the top-seeded Cardinal.

Atonye Nyingfa scored 17 points, and Darxia Morris added 14 for the Bruins, who led 37-23 at halftime and never looked back in improving their record to 27-3.

Two of those losses, however, came against Stanford, and neither was close.

Earlier Friday, Stanford rolled to a 100-71 victory over Arizona.

More later at latimes.com/sports.

-- Gary Klein

Photo: UCLA guard Rebekah Gardner and California guard Layshia Clarendon, left, battle for control of the ball in the first half Friday afternoon at Staples Center. Credit: Reed Saxon / Associated Press

Women's Basketball: Stanford defeats Arizona, 100-71, and advances to Pac-10 tournament final

Stanford forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and her younger sister, Chiney, added 21 points and 13 rebounds as the top-seeded Cardinal routed Arizona, 100-71, to advance to the championship game of the Pacific 10 Conference women's basketball tournament at Staples Center.

Stanford (28-2) had a bye into the semifinals and looked plenty rested en route to scoring the most points in tournament history. It was the third time this season that the Cardinal scored 100 points.

Stanford, which has won 56 consecutive games against conference opponents, plays the winner of Friday afternoon's semifinal between UCLA and California.

Arizona had advanced to the semifinal with victories over Oregon and USC. But the Ogwumikes and the Cardinal were too big and too strong for the Wildcats.

Senior forward Kayla Pedersen added 16 points and six rebounds for Stanford. The Cardinal made 59% of its shots.

Soana Lucet scored 17 points for Arizona (21-11).

More later at latimes.com/sports

-- Gary Klein

USC Basketball: USC investigating 'incident' involving Trojans Coach Kevin O'Neill [Updated]

USC officials are looking into reports that USC Coach Kevin O'Neill, his wife and a fan from an opposing team a were involved in an "incident" late Thursday night. 

"We have received some information tonight about an incident involving coach Kevin O'Neill, his wife and a fan from another school that occurred following our men's basketball game today," USC Athletic Director Pat Haden said in a statement released on the school's website Thursday night. Earlier in the day,  USC posted a  70-56 win over California in a Pacific Life Pac-10 Tournament quarterfinal.  

"We are looking into this and gathering facts. We will determine what appropriate action is necessary."

O'Neill is a second-year coach at USC after previously serving as an interim coach at Arizona. The Trojans are scheduled to face the No. 16 Wildcats in a semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday.

[Update 9:40 a.m.: According to multiple people close to the team, at some time between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Thursday night in the lobby of the JW Marriott hotel at L.A. Live, O'Neill and a longtime Arizona booster, who knew O'Neill from when O'Neill was the team's interim coach in 2007-08 and when he was an assistant coach there in the late 1980s, engaged in a verbal altercation.

Hotel security stepped in and O'Neill's wife, Roberta, engaged in a verbal altercation with the security guard. The two were asked to leave the hotel and they did, heading back to their downtown Los Angeles penthouse.

There is, of course, plenty of bad blood between O'Neill and Arizona. He became the team's interim coach in 2007-08 for longtime Arizona coach Lute Olson, who stepped down because of "personal reasons," and the school publicly designated O'Neill to be the Wildcats' head coach in-waiting. But following a 19-15 season and the school's 24th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, Olson returned and announced that O'Neill would no longer be part of the team. Then Olson permanently retired six months later.]

[Update 10:57 a.m.: Contrary to some reports that indicate O'Neill engaged in an altercation with multiple fans, people close to the situation indicate that it was one person, a longtime Arizona booster and close friend of Olson, and that the alternation was never physical. Arizona Athletic Director Greg Byrne just tweeted that the "U of Arizona is aware of the situation from last night and we know that the conference and USC is looking into the incident."]

[Update 11:21 a.m.: When reached by phone by The Times, O'Neill apologized for the incident. 

"I used poor judgment at the team hotel last night and would like to apologize to my team, to my university and to the athletic department. I'm looking forward to our team having another great effort tonight as we try to win the Pac-10 championship."

O'Neill said he did not expect Thursday night's events to be a distraction to the team. He also confirmed that the incident involved one person and not multiple, as has been reported elsewhere. O'Neill said USC is expected to issue a statement later Friday regarding this situation.]

We'll have more later on this at latimes.com/sports.

-- Baxter Holmes

USC basketball: More on the fourth-seeded Trojans' 70-56 win over fifth-seeded California

My game story from fourth-seeded USC's 70-56 win over fifth-seeded California in Thursday's quarterfinal round of the Pacific Life Pacific 10 Conference Tournament at Staples Center has already been posted.

But since this is the Internet, I am allowed practically infinite room to expound upon any USC basketball-related idea, and I thought I'd use this opportunity to delve into a few factors that keyed USC's decisive win that advances it to Friday's semifinal round against top-seeded Arizona.

The inside game

USC junior forward Nikola Vucevic was saddled with foul trouble, so he didn't factor in much, or at least as much as usual. He only played 27 minutes and scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds.

But it wasn't as if his absence against California was something new for USC.

Remember, Vucevic got hammered in the jaw when these teams met in the Galen Center this season, and he was ineffective in that one, too, scoring only six points in 32 minutes in USC's eventual 68-66 loss.

In this one, here's how Vucevic explained why Cal's defense was so effective:  

"They came and double-teamed me late and I couldn’t do my moves and I didn’t have a lot of space to do my moves," he said. "I was frustrated because I wanted to be on the floor and help my team, but at the end of the day we won and that’s all that matters, so I don’t care what I do."

With him out, the guy who more than stepped up was USC senior forward Alex Stepheson, whom California Coach Mike Montgomery later deemed a "monster" after the 6-foot-10, 250-pound former North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake star scored 14 points and grabbed a career-high tying 16 rebounds.

"Alex has played huge minutes all year, none huger than tonight," USC Coach Kevin O'Neill said. "He anchored our whole team tonight at different times offensively and defensively."

USC is 11-1 when Stepheson posts a double-double this season, a trend he was first told about Tuesday afternoon by yours truly. After his game Thursday, Stepehson said, "I just wanted to be aggressive and go get that double-double after being told that."

As for why he's so effective in that role, it harkens back to his aggressive style of rebounding that fires up the team. If you watch him dunk, he looks impressive doing it.

"That's the key for us," senior guard Donte Smith said. "We get all the momentum with them big dunks." 

And Stepheson had three dunks Thursday, which comprised half of his six-for-nine effort from the floor.

Women's basketball: Arizona defeats USC, 72-61, in Pac-10 tournament

USC's quest to reach 20 victories ended Thursday.

So, perhaps, did the Trojans' chances of gaining a berth in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

Arizona's 72-61 victory over USC in a Pacific Life Pac-10 Conference tournament quarterfinal at the Galen Center leaves the Trojans with a 19-12 record.

Last year, the Trojans also went into Selection Monday with 19 wins and were not invited to the NCAA tournament.

Arizona put USC in another tough spot with a second half that featured a three-point shooting display that turned a one-point halftime lead into a 17-point margin with less than eight minutes left. The Trojans cut the deficit to eight points but could not come back.

The Wildcats (21-10) finished seven of 13 from three-point range. Guard Davellyn Whyte made five of eight three-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points.

Arizona advanced to play top-seeded Stanford on Friday at Staples Center. UCLA plays California in the other semifinal.

More later at latimes.com/sports

--Gary Klein