A hole in the back of a basketball shoe is not something you see every day, especially considering how particular and/or superstitious basketball players are about their shoes. The styles, colors, brands, grip, and marketing claims about their air-bound ability vary among the choices of basketball shoes. If you ask any of the Women of Troy, each has a favored brand of shoe that they feel works for them.

Whether or not they believe the hype of the shoe, the Women of Troy have a serious shoe game going on. Even at the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 2009 Paradise Jam Tournament, many players couldn't resist the lure familiar shoe stores, nor could they resist the tax-free rate they paid for their weapons of war.

So, seeing a hole in the back of a basketball shoe was surprising.

The sight, however, did not suggest that the shoe was neglected, considering the piles of bright orange boxes stacked in the Women of Troy locker room to protect the shoes from dust, dirt, and unnecessary wear-and-tear. Still, the hole was an especially puzzling sight, especially considering that it was on the shoe of Ashley Corral.

The reason for this sight is even more peculiar. It seems that Corral's foot was suffering from irritation aggravated by her shoe, and a very inventive athletic trainer took a scalpel to the heel of the offending footwear. Yes, I can already hear the gasps from you shoe aficionados. Don't fear, the hole was necessary to alleviate the foot pressure causing Corral problems.

Did you miss Saturday night's game against Washington? If you did, Click here to check out "The Melt" for the Trojan's 87-61 win over the Huskies. You will see everything from the pre-game warm-up to the three-quarters court alley-oop pass from Mike Geritty to Marcus Johnson along with the best of the rest from Saturday. Take a look!

The Trojans returned to the hardwood this afternoon for a shootaround and weightlifting session in preparation for this week's games against Oregon State and Oregon.

Head Coach Kevin O"Neill says that the team must continue playing together as a team and maintain a business-like approach through the week and weekend.

Below are a few pictures from today's workout.

By: Josh Moser

Here is the weekend wrap-up of the games that took place this weekend:
Washington      61     USC             87
Washington St. 62     UCLA           74
Oregon St.        61     California    65
Oregon             69     Stanford      84
Arizona             77     Arizona St.  58

Pac-10 Standings through 1/25/10:

The USC Trojans pounded the Washington Huskies, 87-61, at the Galen Center this evening.

Senior forward, Marcus Johnson led the offensive attack for USC, with a career-high 22 points. Dwight Lewis poured in 19 of his own, while Mike Gerrity and Alex Stepheson each had 15.

" It was a great team effort, USC Head Coach, Kevin O'Neill said in the post-game press conference." "We know what we are capable and now the challenge is to continue to play at this level."

Today's game was about getting back to the "blue collar" mentality that has been preached day-in and day-out and the Trojans did just that. USC found themselves up 19-6 early after a big three by Dwight Lewis almost halfway through the first half. The team moved the ball very well, amassing 15 assists on the night to only 10 turnovers, a statistic that has been the Trojans Achilles heal thus far this season. Great guard play by Mike Gerrity allowed the Trojans to space the floor and find openings that turned into easy buckets. This victory moves the Trojans up to second place in the Pac-10. USC will travel to Oregon next week to take on both Oregon and Oregon State.

Take a look at tonight's action from the floor taken by Pierson Clair, USC Athletics.

Check out our behind-the-scenes slideshow of tonight's game below.

Photos and Story by Josh Moser

Stay tuned for a full-game recap and Head Coach, Kevin O'Neill's press conference.

USC arrived early to the Galen Center this afternoon to mentally prepare themselves for tonight's contest against Washington. Four hours before game time, USC sat down for their traditional pre-game meal. While watching some last minute game film, the players and coaching staff continued in conversation about tonight's match up against the Huskies. The discussion covered everything from keys to the game to specific match-ups the Trojans want to exploit out on the floor. USC is looking to bounce back from Thursday's loss to Washington State.

Post and photos by Josh Moser

Take a look at these action photos from Trojan Fever Blog staff photographer Pierson Clair.

The Trojans returned to the Galen Center this afternoon to begin preparation for tomorrow night's contest against the University of Washington. Both teams are coming off of a loss and both are looking to get back on track.

The Trojans had a short film session this afternoon, followed by a forty-five minute lifting session. Practice commenced with a light shoot around. USC will be back on the floor tomorrow at 2:30 PM for a pre-game shoot around. Tip off against Washington is at 7:30 PM.

-Josh Moser

Check out some highlights and interviews from USC's 67-60 loss to Washington State.

• Leading scorer: Marcus Johnson, 16 points
• Leading rebounder: Nikola Vucevic, 10 rebounds
• Leading assist getter: Mike Gerrity, 6 assists
• Team field goal percentage: 37.3 percent (22-for-59)
• Team free throw percentage: 57.1 percent (12-for-21)
• WSU leading scorers: Reggie Moore (21 points) and Klay Thompson (20 points)
• Attendance: 4,422
• Next game: Saturday vs. Washington, 7:30 p.m. at the Galen Center

• "This is a tough loss for us because we had that game in control."
• "You count on your defense being your hallmark and when that lets you down, it's unfortunate."
• "We kind of collapsed for the first time in a while."

Coach Kevin O'Neill speaks to the media following Thursday night's 67-60 loss.

Averaging almost a double-double, Nikola Vucevic is USC's leading rebounder (9 rpg) and second leading scorer (12 ppg).

In this week's edition of "The Playmakers," learn more about the Trojan star who came all the way from Montenegro to play at USC.

Click here for "The Playmakers: Nikola Vucevic."

The Women of Troy moved into second place in the Pac-10 last weekend with their 70-63 win over UCLA. Check out some of the highlights in "The Women of Troy Melt: UCLA."

The men's basketball team had some special guests at practice today as they continued preparation for this weekend's games vs. Washington State and Washington. Some lucky Lanterman High School students enjoyed practice and a little friendly competition on the court at Galen Center after practice concluded. Lanterman is a special education magnet for 6th-12th graders in Los Angeles, just down the street from USC.

USC's 67-46 win over UCLA on Saturday was the Trojan's biggest win ever at Pauley Pavilion and their largest margin of victory over the Bruins since the 1940's.

If you missed the game, then be sure to check out "The Melt," a 5 minute video with all the highlights and behind the scenes action.

Click here to watch The Melt: USC vs. UCLA.

Also check out Coach O'Neill's Post-Game Press Conference and the USC vs. UCLA Video Recap.

It was a great weekend for the Trojans as both the men's and women's basketball teams beat UCLA.

On Saturday, the men's basketball team started off the weekend by beating UCLA at Pauley Pavilion 67-46, the largest win at Pauley since it opened in 1965. Click here for the complete release.

On Sunday at Galen Center, the women's basketball team took on UCLA in a game that went down to the wire. The Trojans came out on top with clutch free throw shooting down the stretch and won 70-63. Click here for the complete release.

Although Demar Derozan was only at USC for one season, that season was filled with many highlight dunks and high flying plays. The NBA announced that Demar will compete in the first ever All-Star Dunk-In with Clippers guard Eric Gordon for a spot in the main Slam Dunk competition later that night. Click here to go to the Toronto Raptors Website to get all of the info on how to help Demar win the Dunk-In.

After a disappointing weekend in Northern California, the Trojans look to get back on track this Saturday against cross-town rival UCLA.

Both teams are part of a group of five Pac-10 schools that are 2-2, trailing three schools that are 2-1. It's still very early in the conference season, but it is shaping up to be a very competitive Pac-10 race. Add in the fact that it's the Bruins, and there is plenty on the line for the Trojans this weekend.

Clcik here to watch a Video Preview of USC vs. UCLA

USC sophomore Ashley Corral is off to a great start for the Women of Troy, leading the team in points, assists, steals and minutes played. Coach Cooper says her competitive spirit and work ethic remind him of himself as a player.

In this week's episode of "The Playmakers," learn more about the Trojan's point guard

Clcik here to watch The Playmakers: Ashley Corral (FREE).

USC beat ASU 47-37 last Saturday, in what turned out to be play-by-play announcer Rory Markas' last game with the Trojans. See the highlights and hear Rory's final call in the latest free episode of "The Melt."

Click here to check out "The Melt" for the Trojan's win over ASU. (FREE).

In the Trojans first game after the disappointing news that they won't be able to play in the postseason, they took Stanford to the wire in Palo Alto, but ended up losing 54-53.

USC was down 53-46 with less than 2 minutes left when the Trojans signature defense ramped up their intensity allowing them to tie the game on two big jumpers by Dwight Lewis and a 3-pointer by Leonard Washington.

With 30 seconds left, Stanford had the ball with a chance to take the lead, and were able to get to the free throw line with 10 seconds left. Jarrett Mann made the second of two free throws giving the Trojans a chance to win the game on the other end.

With no timeouts left, Mike Gerrity drove the ball up the floor, drew three defenders and shot a running lay-up from the baseline that rattled around the rim and came out. Leonard Washington and Nikola Vucevic both had chances at point blank range for a tip in but neither could convert with all of the action around the basket.

The Trojans are now 2-1 in conference play and head to Berkeley to take on California, 1-1 in conference play. Cal lost to UCLA on Wednesday night 76-75 in the final seconds of their game. USC tips off at Cal at 7:30pm on Saturday night. The game will be aired on Fox Sports Net.

The Women of Troy have added a new decoration to their locker room at the Galen Center.

Sitting on the counter of marble, surrounded by Gatorade bottles numbered with each player's number, is the Women of Troy Classic Championship Trophy. The Women of Troy pass it everyday, and know that it is the first of many to come this season.

Instead of sitting in a magnanimous trophy case where only recruits and the occasional fan would briefly glance at during halftime of a USC women's basketball game while in search of popcorn and candy, the trophy sits in the one place where it would be a constant reminder to the players about what they have achieved this season, and what they can do in the future.

And the future is what the Women of Troy are focused on.

In honor of former USC play-by-play announcer Rory Markas, a highlight reel of his calls will be played during halftime of tonight's broadcast. Click below to listen.

Rory Markas Highlights.MP3

Steve Physioc and Pete Arbogast will fill in as the USC men's basketball radio play-by-play announcer for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Physioc, who worked with Markas through 2009 on the Angels' television and radio broadcasts, will announce USC's 7 p.m. game at Stanford on Wednesday (Jan. 6). Because of a conflict with the Lakers' game, that Trojan-Cardinal contest will air on KLAA 830 and KGIL 1260 instead of USC flagship 710 ESPN Radio (KSPN-AM).

Arbogast, who is USC's football radio play-by-play announcer, then will handle the final 15 games of the 2010 season, beginning with Saturday's (Jan. 9) broadcast at California at 7:30 p.m. That game will air on 710 ESPN.

The pair previously filled in for Markas during part of last season when he was recovering from November 2008 surgery to remove a blood clot from the side of his head.

USC will decide on a permanent replacement for Markas after the season.

Hefner will continue in his role as the Trojans' longtime radio analyst.

Rory Markas, the play-by-play announcer for both the USC men's basketball team and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, passed away on Monday (Jan. 4) at his home in Palmdale, Calif. He was 54.

Click here to read the complete release on usctrojans.com.

"Are you angry?" "Are the sanctions fair to this team?" "Will you be motivated for the rest of the season?"

These were just some of the questions the USC Basketball team had to answer to the media on Monday.

Click here to see what the team had to say after learning their season will be over on March 6th.

Did you miss the USC vs. Arizona game on New Year's Eve? If you did don't miss all the highlights in the latest episode of "The Melt."

Click here to check out "The Melt" for the Trojan's 56-50 win over the Wildcats.

The USC Trojans knock off Arizona State, 47-37, after holding the Sun Devils to under 25 percent shooting from the field.

This defensive stronghold for USC was anchored by Alex Stepheson. The former Harvard-Westlake standout had seven rebounds on the night, to go along with six points. While his numbers might not reflect a great game, Stepheson's presence daunted the Sun Devil driving attack, and forced ASU to take bad shot, upon bad shot. Marcus Simmons championed the perimeter defense for the Trojans,forcing All-Conference guard, Derek Glasser out of the middle, much like he did in last year's Pac-10 championship game. Simmons defensive performance allowed the Trojans to dictate the game's momentum and keep the ball in the sure hands of Mike Gerrity.

Gerrity finished the game with a game-high 12 points, while holding Glasser to a lowly two. Marcus Johnson also finished the game with 12 points, including a monstrous dunk over Eric Boateng in the middle of the second half.

This win makes it eight in a row for the Trojans. USC will travel to the Bay Area to take on Stanford and Cal next week.

Check below for a behind-the-scenes slideshow of tonight's game.

Stay tuned to watch Kevin O'Neill's post-game press conference and for a full recap of tonight's game.

Tonight's key match-up pits USC's Mike Gerrity against Derek Glasser of ASU. Both are senior guards that stand 6-foot-one inch in height and both are former prep standouts in southern California. The two have almost identical statistics entering tonight's contest, each averaging around 12 points per game, 2 rebounds, and both shooting near 90 percent from the foul line.

Gerrity is coming fresh off of a week in which he was named the Pac-10 Player from the period between December 21st- December 27th. While he struggled in the Pac-10 opener against Arizona, tonight's game gives the Yorba Linda native the first look at a zone defense during conference play. Look for Gerrity to use his great vision and ball handling to penetrate and break down the middle of the zone in order to find Johnson and Lewis on the outside or Vucevic and Stepheson down low for an easy two.

The Trojans come into tonight's contest hosting the Arizona St. Sun Devils after taking care of Arizona, 56-50, in their conference opener at the Galen Center on New Year's Eve.

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS -- Arizona State is 10-4 following its 72-70 loss at UCLA on Dec. 31. It has been a complete team effort by ASU as no one player ranks among the top 15 in the Pac-10 in scoring and only one player in the top 20 in rebounds. They have, however, shot the lights out, shooting at a 48.1 clip while holding opponents to 39.3 percent. ASU also stretches defenses with their outside shooting, having connected on a conference-leading 121 three-pointers in 14 games, as compared to the Trojans' 38 in their first 13 games. USC took two out of three games from ASU last season, including winning 66-63 in the Pac-10 Tournament title game. USC leads the all-time series with ASU, 48-32, and has won nine of the last 13 games against the Sun Devils.

Look for USC to establish a post-game early, using the great size of Vucevic and Stepheson down low. On the defensive end, the Trojans have held team to 56 points or less in each of their last 7 games and are looking to keep their seven-game winning streak alive. Tip off is at 7:30 PM PST.

Stay tuned for a complete wrap-up of tonight's game, including a behind-the-scenes phot gallery following the contest.