USC basketball: Trojans top Bengals, face No. 9 Tennessee next

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

After USC beat Idaho State, 59-53, on Friday night at the Galen Center, a reporter asked Trojans senior guard Dwight Lewis if the team would have to play better to beat No. 9 Tennessee, the Trojans’ next opponent, on Dec. 19.

Lewis laughed, seeming to say if USC doesn’t play better than they did against the Bengals, Tennessee will blow the doors off the Galen Center.

The Volunteers’ (6-1) only loss of the season was to No. 5 Purdue, 73-72, in the finals of the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Four players average double-digit points for Coach Bruce Pearl’s break-neck paced team, which leads the Southeastern Conference in scoring (86.4) and scoring margin (+25). Sophomore guard Scotty Hopson (15.7 points) leads the team in scoring.

‘To beat a team like Tennessee, we have to take care of the ball and play their depth,’ said USC Coach Kevin O’Neill, who coached at Tennessee from 1994 to 1997. ‘We have to play a great game to have a chance to win.’

To be sure, taking care of the ball isn’t the Trojans’ style.

Coming into Friday’s game, USC averaged 16.9 turnovers per game, next to last in the Pacific 10 Conference. Against Idaho State, the Trojans had 18 more.

And, to be sure, playing anyone who has a deep bench isn’t the Trojans’ style, either.

Combine losing forward Kasey Cunningham to a season-ending knee injury with having to wait on forward Leonard Washington (academics) and guard Mike Gerrity (transfer) to become eligible, and the Trojans are basically playing a six-man rotation, O’Neill said.

So what is the Trojans’ style? Play the same guys who seem (for better or worse) to be plagued by turnovers, make timely defensive stops and have Lewis, the lone returning starter from last season, step up with big shots at key moments.

Case in point: On Friday, USC held a 19-point lead, then had turnovers on seven straight possessions, largely due to Idaho State switching to a 2-3 zone defense.

‘We just weren’t moving and cutting in the zone, like we should,’ Lewis said.

Yet there were key blocks and steals near the end -- the Trojans finished with a team record 13 blocks -- that provided crucial stops, and it was Lewis whose three-point play capped a 15-6 run that put the Trojans ahead, 55-45, with 1:43 left.

Against Tennessee, as Lewis’ silence indicated, USC will need to do a lot more aside from playing good defense, taking care of the ball and matching the Volunteers’ depth, but forward Alex Stepheson said having confidence on their side from back-to-back wins will help a lot, too.

‘We needed these two wins,’ he said. ‘It didn’t matter who we were playing against. We needed two wins coming from that rough road trip.

‘Right now, we’re playing better. We didn’t beat just some raggedy teams. They’re pretty good. All we can do is look forward to playing Tennessee.’

-- Baxter Holmes

s