Will USC Ever Stop the Teasing?

So close, but yet so USC.

No. 1 played No. Unlisted on Thursday, and the results were positively Bibbyesque.

Stanford, the nation’s top-ranked college team, remained unbeaten in a game it could have lost, should have lost, but will seemingly never lose.

That’s because it wound up being a game that USC will seemingly never win.

The Trojans had the skill to knot the Cardinal up with three minutes remaining. But, like other recent Trojan teams on the verge of stealing memories, they had no idea what to do next.

Silly shot here. Missed rebound there. Stanford everywhere.

The Cardinal calmly and smartly escaped into the arms of a 76-67 win that was as confusing as the postgame chatter.

Mike Montgomery, Stanford coach, shrugged.

“This was not us at our best,� he said.

Henry Bibby, USC coach, practically celebrated.

“That was a win for us,� he said. “You didn’t play a slouch tonight. This was the best team in the country and you had a chance to beat them and that’s all you can ask for.�

Now that he brought up questions, here’s one that USC basketball must be pondering.

Why is that all you can ask for? For a program only three years removed from the Elite Eight, how can a nine-point loss possibly be considered a win?

When is USC going to be the Pac-10’s private school that plays basketball with its brains?

When are the Trojans going to stop being such a tease? Or, unless things radically change around here, will they ever?

Bibby’s acceptance of the defeat was surprising, but the manner was not.

With the score tied at 65 and the only two-thirds-filled Sports Arena still rocking, Stanford brought the ball down court and began passing. And passing. And passing.

And you knew it -- and before the Trojans knew it -- Josh Childress was wide open for a corner three-point attempt that he made as part of his 36 points.

USC? The Trojans responded with a rushed missed layup by Desmon Farmer and a rushed missed jumper by Lodrick Stewart.

Stanford came back down the floor and Childress calmly found his way to an open layup through a seemingly crowded defense to give the Cardinal a five-point lead.

USC? The Trojans then had five free throws before the Cardinal took another shot, but the conference’s eighth-ranked foul-shooting team missed three of them.

Stanford came back with a great drive-and-dish by Matt Lottich into the hands of Joe Kirchofer, who scored the clincher.

USC? Its best player, Farmer, spent the final minutes standing far away from the basket, not running, not creating, just standing.

You could blame it on his four fouls but, um, er, after he scored 11 points in the game’s first eight minutes, Farmer didn’t score again.

“Sometimes Desmon takes himself out of the game,� said Bibby, who nonetheless didn’t seem to create anything to bring him back into the game.

As Montgomery implied, Stanford did not play like the best team in the country. In fact, it barely played like a No. 1 seed. Showing little depth and not much athleticism, the Cardinal didn’t look like a team that could survive past this spring’s Sweet 16.

But then, factor in Montgomery’s wisdom, and the on-court leadership of Lottich and Chris Hernandez, and 36-point Josh Childress, and who knows?

“Games here can be tough, especially against a USC team that plays with a lot of emotion,� Lottich said. “But we pride ourselves on our poise. We’ve been through this before, and we know we’re able to work through it.�

Isn’t that what teams always say about USC? That it plays with a lot of emotion?

It would be nice to see the Trojans play with some of the stuff that Stanford plays with.

“When you play teams like [Stanford], you have to minimize your mistakes,� Bibby said. “We had breakdowns. But the kids fought back.�

They did indeed, fighting back to tie the score after falling behind by seven points midway through the second half.

But without those mistakes, they wouldn’t have fallen behind in the first place.

Bibby himself was responsible for two Stanford points in the first half with a silly technical foul after stalking official Dave Libbey out toward the foul line.

Then, perhaps taking a cue from his coach, Errick Craven opened the door by complaining about a call early in the second half.

With the Trojans leading by six, Craven lost the ball on a drive. While he and a couple of teammates griped about the call, Lottich streaked downcourt and caught a pass for a layup to close the gap to four.

Moments later, Craven committed another turnover and Lottich scored on another layup and Stanford’s rush was on.

“They came out as the aggressor,� Montgomery said of the Trojans. “But in the second half, we reasserted ourselves.�

During a timeout with 6:29 left, fans danced and cheered as the loudspeakers blared “I Love L.A.�

Later, those fans once again learned that love hurts.

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Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.