USC gets its third big test of season with a big hole in its lineup

USC has spent the last two days of practice confronting an uncomfortable reality. The Trojans’ best offensive player, forward Bennie Boatwright, is expected to miss six weeks because of a sprained knee ligament.

But Coach Andy Enfield said he hasn’t agonized over how USC (7-0) will fill Boatwright’s scoring void.

“We have enough guys that like to shoot the ball,” Enfield said, laughing. “So I’m not worried about that.”

Another cause for assurance: USC’s light nonconference slate has provided a cushion. The Trojans’ early schedule posed only three major tests; they passed the first two, with a win at Texas A&M and at home over Southern Methodist.

The only major hurdle remaining comes Saturday against Brigham Young in the finale of a doubleheader at Staples Center that also features a reprise of the Gonzaga-Arizona rivalry.

A win would tie USC’s best start to a season since 1971, when it began 16-0. It would also chart the Trojans on a course to potentially finish the nonconference season undefeated. After the BYU contest, five games remain before the start of the Pac-12 season. USC should be comfortable favorites in all five.

Such a schedule, though, can provide little room for error. USC’s strength of schedule is 296th in the nation (out of 351). To stay competitive with the NCAA tournament selection committee at the end of the season, USC needs to hit on almost all of its early opportunities against winning teams, making games like the one against BYU (5-2) more crucial.

“We’ve got a couple good wins our our schedule,” point guard Jordan McLaughlin said. “And we haven’t had any bad losses. So it’ll all be good.”

Enfield said he believed USC’s schedule strength would climb as opponents like Montana and Omaha move into conference play, where Enfield expects their records to improve. He believed he sufficiently challenged his team with the home-and-home series against Texas A&M and SMU.

Those teams combined to win 53 games last season, but Enfield’s coaching peers have not judged USC’s record charitably. Texas A&M, which has two losses, received more votes in the Coaches’ Poll than USC, which is undefeated.

Enfield said that the Trojans aren’t “worried about getting noticed. We’re just worried about winning.”

“That’s fine if we don’t get ranked all year,” McLaughlin added. “We’ll just make sure we win as many games as we can.”

Boatwright’s absence adds a degree of difficulty. Brigham Young has averaged 88 points a game, led by forward Eric Mika’s 19.7 points and 8.4 rebounds.

Boatwright was expected to be USC’s leading scorer this season after averaging 11.5 points and 5.2 rebounds during his freshman season. He was the player USC was least able to replace.

“Bennie is a unique combination of size and skill,” Enfield said. “And we don’t really have anyone else on our team like that with that size and skill.”

Forward Chimezie Metu said part of USC’s offense was “based off of guys closing late on him or him playing off a closeout or being isolated.” When Boatwright missed USC’s first two games with a different injury, “it was hard for us to score,” Metu said.

Even if Boatwright were to return on schedule, he would still miss the first four games of Pac-12 play. USC must use the the next six games to learn how to operate without him.

Enfield said USC will alternate between big and small lineups to compensate. In Boatwright’s earlier absence, 6-foot-11 Nick Rakocevic started along with Metu, who is also 6-11. Enfield said that is his preferred lineup, even though it probably would force USC to play more inside than on the perimeter.

USC can also play with four guards by inserting freshman point guard De’Anthony Melton, who has showed promise, and running a two-point-guard system, as the Trojans did last season. In that scenario, wing Shaqquan Aaron would play in the frontcourt, and USC would use more zone defense, McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin was confident USC could adapt.

“Our offense is not designed through one person,” he said. “It’s not an iso offense. It’s a team offense.”

For an example of how to adapt to injuries, USC would be wise to arrive early and watch No. 16 Arizona (6-1) on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats will play with only seven healthy scholarship players.

Allonzo Trier, who averaged 14.8 points a game last season, hasn’t played this season because of unspecified eligibility issues. Another incoming recruit, Terrance Ferguson, decided to forgo his freshman season to play professionally in Australia.

Then on Wednesday, point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright sprained his ankle and is expected to miss extended time.

The absences give No. 8 Gonzaga (7-0) its best chance in years to defeat the Wildcats. The two teams have become the North-South power centers in the West. They are the two winningest teams in the nation over the past three seasons. (Gonzaga has 99 wins, Arizona 98.)

This will be the fourth consecutive season the teams have met.

“It’s not only a challenge, but it’s the right thing to do when you consider the history of both of our programs,” Arizona Coach Sean Miller said.

It has usually worked out in Miller’s favor. Arizona has won six of seven games against Gonzaga since 2000.

“We feel like we owe them some payback,” Gonzaga guard Josh Perkins told reporters Thursday. “It’s been some years building up. Saturday’s a time for us to get back at them.”

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UP NEXT FOR USC

VS. BRIGHAM YOUNG

When: 5 p.m., Saturday.

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: ESPNU.

Update: USC (7-0) was one of just 15 Division I teams without a loss through Thursday’s games. The last time the Trojans began the season with eight straight wins was 2000. They hadn’t had a better start since 1971.

After forward Bennie Boatwright was injured Wednesday in a 76-55 win at San Diego, forward Chimezie Metu contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds, both season highs. Boatwright’s injury probably means more playing time for freshmen Nick Rakocevic, a forward who has averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds, and De’Anthony Melton, a point guard who has averaged 10.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and has led the Pac-12 with 2.9 steals per game.

Brigham Young has had no issues scoring. It averages 88 points a game. But its defense failed in two straight losses to Valparaiso and Utah Valley before recovering against Utah State on Wednesday. In the losses, BYU Coach Dave Rose said, “we tried to outscore. We got 89 one game and lost. We got 101 and lost. So we need to really make a commitment to the defensive end.”

zach.helfand@latimes.com

Follow Zach Helfand on Twitter @zhelfand