Ken Davis

This past Sunday was a perfect day for a little California dreaming — especially if you were stuck in the Midwest or Northeast watching the snow, sleet and ice combine to overburden tree limbs and power lines. That depressing scene will be repeated throughout the winter, but so will the exciting brand of college basketball being served up in Southern California.

That brings us back to our original topic. USC and UCLA offered up their version of a hoops paradise Sunday. If you were lucky enough to have the tickets, the time, and the patience to navigate the Santa Monica Freeway, you could have seen four Top 25 teams playing just 15 miles apart.

The home teams didn’t fare too well. Mario Chalmers hit a deep three-pointer to lift Kansas to a 59-55 victory over the Trojans. And just hours later, Damion James of Texas slammed home a memorable dunk to hand the Bruins their first loss of the season, 63-61 at Pauley Pavilion. It was a stunning way for UCLA’s 25-game home winning streak to end.

Watching both games on TV, it was a reminder of how much fun this season is going to be in Los Angeles. Steve Martin may want to consider a sequel to “L.A. Story.” This time it could be a romantic comedy starring Kevin Love. Of course, if Love leaves UCLA and O.J. Mayo bolts from USC after their freshman seasons, there won’t be anything romantic or funny about that plot.

But USC vs. UCLA matters again, and the nation will be watching when they meet Jan. 19 (at UCLA) and Feb. 17 (at USC). Two great freshmen have helped bring the rivalry back into focus. So have two successful coaches. Ben Howland has UCLA taking aim at its third consecutive Final Four. Tim Floyd is changing the culture at USC, recruiting blue-chip players, and elevating the Trojans in the Pac-10 race.

“I’m hoping one day we can have a Duke-North Carolina situation there with UCLA,” Floyd said last season. That’s a lot to hope for given the long history and consistency of the rivalry generally considered to be the best in college basketball. Duke and North Carolina have something special with proximity playing a huge role. But there’s nothing wrong with aspiring to be great. And there’s always room for rivalries — old and new — in college basketball.

We are reminded of that as Indiana and Kentucky prepare to play Saturday, and Xavier and Cincinnati renew their rivalry Dec. 12. It takes more than coaches and players to keep a rivalry alive. Both teams must be competitive. The upset element must prevail from time to time. The fans must deliver the passion because they supply the necessary link to the past. And these days, recruiting battles can provide the highest drama of all.

Truly great rivalries survive the test of time. ESPN tells us when it is Feast Week or Student Spirit Week or Judgment Week. According to the network schedule, Rivalry Week is Feb. 4-10. Tell that to Indiana, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Xavier. They are pumped for their rivalries now.

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Bob Huggins was the perfect villain figure in the Cincinnati-Xavier rivalry when he coached the Bearcats. But I guarantee you Xavier coach Sean Miller wants to beat Cincinnati as much — if not more — than Pete Gillen or Skip Prosser or Thad Matta did before him. Miller doesn’t need Huggins on the other bench to fire him up.

Indiana-Kentucky could use a dose of Bob Knight and Rick Pitino, but Kelvin Sampson and Billy Gillispie will have their players ready and the fans will supply the tradition and history.

Georgetown and Syracuse is heating up again with John Thompson III and Patrick Ewing Jr. bringing power back to the Hoyas. Kansas and Missouri never went away but the recent surge by the football programs at those Big 12 schools will add to the basketball voltage this season. Those are two rivalries that are as good as any — whether they are played during ESPN’s Rivalry Week or not.

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The oldies are goodies, but here are four more to add to UCLA-USC on this year’s sizzling list:

Texas vs. Texas A&M (Jan. 30 in College Station; Feb. 18 in Austin)
Texas-Oklahoma is a football rivalry. We’re talking hoops here and the Longhorns and the Aggies are both playing terrific basketball to start this season. Gillispie brought defense, intensity and winning to A&M, then headed off to Kentucky. Rick Barnes and Gillispie had some big-time recruiting battles over Texas high school stars. New Aggies coach Mark Turgeon is glad Gillispie won the race for DeAndre Jordan.

Illinois vs. Indiana (Jan. 13 in Bloomington; Feb. 7 in Champaign)
This is all about Indiana freshman Eric Gordon, who originally gave a commitment to Illinois coach Bruce Weber. Then Sampson left Oklahoma, was hired by the Hoosiers and a courtship of Gordon began. Who contacted whom first? Who knows for sure? It doesn’t matter much now. Gordon is wearing Indiana red and will be Enemy No. 1 when he visits Champaign.

Memphis vs. Tennessee (Feb. 23 in Memphis)
Memphis coach John Calipari knows how to stir things up. This reminds us a little bit of the old war between UConn and UMass when Calipari coached the Minutemen. Now Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl is playing the part of UConn coach Jim Calhoun. It’s all about recruiting, scheduling and a lack of trust. Who can annoy the other the most? You’ve gotta love it.

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Kentucky vs. Florida (Jan. 19 in Gainesville; March 9 in Lexington)
My Billy is better than your Billy. Kentucky fans are mad at the Gators for grabbing SEC titles and national championships the past two seasons. Kentucky ran off Tubby Smith and tried to hire Billy The Kid Donovan away from Florida. But he said no. So the Wildcats pursued Billy Clyde Gillispie instead and landed the Texas A&M coach. The recruiting wars immediately boiled over. Florida got Jai Lucas. Kentucky landed Patrick Patterson. Now the battle moves to the court. This is gonna be good.

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