INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- USC beat UCLA on Thursday night because the Trojans had two or three ballhandlers on the floor at all times.

Sure, they dominated the offensive backboard, an alarming 19 in the first half, 24 overall, but how did the Trojans get those second and third shots? They did it by getting the first shots through dribble penetration, by blowing past UCLA with 5-foot-9 senior Brandon Granville, 6-2 freshman Errick Craven and at times 6-4 sophomore Desmon Farmer and 6-1 junior Robert Hutchinson.

Yes, UCLA kept firing up 3-pointers from Matt Barnes, a school-tying seven of them, but in the end it still came back to the backcourt in USC's 81-77 victory to move to a perfect 5-0 atop the Pac-10 standings. At 13-2 overall, the Trojans have no ranking to back up their play.

That's the difference between these two crosstown rivals right now: Unranked USC has the playmakers at the point and No. 14 UCLA doesn't.

So far, UCLA is doing it by committee this season, with Jason Kapono, Barnes and Rico Hines sharing the ballhandling duties. Star freshman point Cedric Bozeman is still nursing a knee injury, logging only seven minutes Thursday. Bozeman's heralded classmates, Dijon Thompson and Andre Patterson, are still a long way from being major contributors. The two wings played a combined 10 minutes Thursday, held in check by constant pressure from USC's guards.

That pestering defensive play, mixed with the Trojan guards' ability to break a defender down off the dribble could be the reason USC might end up winning the Pac-10 ahead of UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Arizona and Oregon.

"That's been the big difference in years past with them (with Earl Watson) and with us because it has just been me by myself handling the ball," said Granville, who had lost three straight to the Bruins.

Granville looked like he needed a life preserver in the Elite Eight loss to Duke last season, committing five turnovers against the pressure. He had eight in the second-round win over Boston College and averaged nearly four a game last season. This season, he's down to 2.5 turnovers per game, largely because he has help.

He had none in 33 minutes Thursday night.

Granville is better this season, but so are the Trojans even though Jeff Trepagnier and Brian Scalabrine are gone. The reasons for the improvement are Granville and Craven, who could have been at UCLA had the Bruins not committed to Bozeman or if UCLA was willing to take Errick's twin brother, Derrick. The Bruins have said they wanted to stagger the twins, taking Derrick next season (who knows where he would have been this season?), but the Trojans were willing to go with both right away.

"I like playing with this team better because we press and it suits my game better," said Granville, who missed seven minutes because he got poked in the eye twice.

"We're great together," Craven said. "He's a scoring threat or he can dribble the ball or take the point. BG can't do it all himself. We're a good pressing team."

The relentless guard play helps create shots for Clancy inside, even if it takes him two or three attempts to finish, as it did when he was 5-of-15 shooting Thursday. David Bluthenthal also benefits on the wing for a corner jumper or 3-pointer or a layup underneath.

"They're both so crafty with the ball, and no one can check Errick Craven," Clancy said of Granville and Craven, who flushed a dunk on Hines by simply sprinting past him baseline on a fast break. "He's so quick that you can't get off him.

"(The Bruins) didn't press until they were down but when they did we've got so many press breakers," Clancy added.

USC coach Henry Bibby is already calling Errick Craven the best USC freshman he has seen, largely because of the little things he can do, such as grabbing boards, getting to the basket and running the team.

"It was tough out there because they were smaller and quicker and found the gaps," Kapono said. "That's what they do: They use their point guards to get it to the basket, throw it up and try to get the rebound and finish."

UCLA was quite the opposite, relying on the deep 3s to stay in the game, converting 12 of them.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, that strategy might not work against pressing teams like USC, possibly Kansas on Saturday or at times Arizona and Oregon in the conference.

"They've got quicker guards and can generate turnovers," UCLA assistant Jim Saia said of the Bruins' 14 turnovers. "We can survive (without a true point). We could have won today. Our offense isn't a point-guard offense because anyone can bring up the ball."

It would be good for UCLA to have Bozeman on the floor more, but that's not likely to happen anytime soon. Saia said Bozeman is simply too far behind and can't get the necessary reps to get better in the heart of the Pac-10 season. That's why Hines is logging 24 minutes.

"He's trying to get his confidence up right now and it's tough to do," Saia said.

The Trojans aren't having those issues. They've got their self-esteem in check, and they're finally starting to win over some fans in Los Angeles. At least two-thirds of the 15,903 fans at the Forum on Thursday were cheering for the Maroon and Gold.

Granville said he's used to the lack of attention and/or respect in Los Angeles and nationally. Now, however, he says it's time for everyone notice the Trojans.

"We always feel like we're on the road all the time," Granville said. "We just have to keep proving to everyone we belong in the polls. I don't see how we won't be after this win."

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.