Trojans looking for Washington success

Having won five of six Pacific 10 Conference games after an 0-3 start, USC is hoping for another reversal of fortune this week.

The Trojans are 0-4 against Washington and Washington State on the road in two years under Coach Tim Floyd but could be making the trek to the Pacific Northwest at an opportune time.

Washington has already lost four home games, twice as many as the Huskies did last season. And Washington State has lost three consecutive games -- including two in a row at Friel Court in Pullman.

USC will bring a respectable 5-2 road record to face Washington on Thursday at Bank of America Arena, where the Trojans haven’t won since 2004. But USC has posted its two best victories -- over UCLA and Oregon -- on the road.

The Trojans reached the midpoint of conference play with a 5-4 record, putting them on track for an above-.500 Pac-10 finish. Floyd said in December that anything better than 9-9 in conference play would be “tremendous.”

“It doesn’t mean anything where we are right now. We have a long way to go,” Floyd said Saturday after USC defeated Arizona State, 67-53. “I hope we can scratch out a win on the road this week.”

Sophomore guard Daniel Hackett’s 18 minutes against Arizona State were just enough to keep the other Trojans guards fresh in the second half.

Sophomore Dwight Lewis (32 minutes) and freshman Angelo Johnson (31) each played six fewer minutes than they did against Arizona on Thursday, when USC wilted over the final five minutes of an 80-69 defeat.

Hackett acknowledged that playing against the Sun Devils could have exacerbated the deep pelvis bruise he suffered during a fall Thursday, but he was determined to give it a try.

“It meant a lot to the coaches,” Floyd said. “We needed to give our guys a blow and we couldn’t the other night. . . . As a result [of Hackett’s presence], we were able to finish this game.”

Freshman forward Davon Jefferson said he was not upset when Arizona State guard Derek Glasser appeared to dive at his legs on a fastbreak late in the game, sending Jefferson tumbling to the floor.

The play provoked a strong reaction from Jefferson’s teammates, with Lewis immediately turning to an official and gesturing for an intentional foul.

“I didn’t like that,” Hackett said. “I don’t know if it was an intentional foul, but a guy diving at somebody’s legs, you don’t do that.”

Said Jefferson: “It’s a contact sport. I’m tough, I can take it. I’ve known [Glasser] since high school so I wasn’t tripping about it.”

Lewis, making 72.5% of his free throws before Saturday, made one of seven against Arizona State. He said afterward that he could not recall a worse performance at the foul line. “It was frustrating, but I tried not to let it get to me,” he said. Lewis also made only three of 11 shots, concluding a two-game stretch in which he shot 26.7% from the field. . . . Sophomore forward Taj Gibson’s four blocks against Arizona State gave him 116, tying him for fourth on the school’s all-time list with Rod Keller.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com