USC Hoping Road-Court Advantage Holds Up

USC is trying to win its first conference basketball championship in 24 years the hard way. The Trojans are unbeaten on the road (5-0), yet they’re barely over .500 (3-2) at home, alternating between the Sports Arena and Cal State Dominguez Hills.

USC has already swept the Arizona and Oregon schools on their home courts and, if the Trojans beat Washington State today at Friel Court, they will have plundered the state of Washington.

USC beat the Huskies, 61-50, Thursday night in Seattle, the second of a three-game Northwest trip that began with a 60-58 win over Oregon State Monday night in Corvallis, Ore.

On the surface, it would seem that the Cougars, 3-7 in the Pac-10 and 10-10 overall, would be the softest touch on this road swing.

But anybody can jump up and bite you in the Pac-10 this season. For example, Washington State upset UCLA, 66-58, in overtime here Thursday night.

USC Coach Stan Morrison is also reminding his team that it lost to Stanford, 60-54, Jan. 28 at the Sports Arena. The Cardinal is in last place in the league with a 2-8 record.

Nevertheless, the schedule is favorable for the Trojans in the remaining eight league games if they can beat WSU today.

USC (8-2 and 14-5 overall) has a one-game lead over Arizona (7-3) with Oregon State (6-3), Washington and UCLA (both 6-4) still in contention.

The Trojans meet Arizona State (5-5) and Arizona next Thursday night and Saturday afternoon at the Sports Arena. Then, USC goes into the Bay Area for games with Stanford and California (3-7), meets UCLA at Pauley Pavilion before concluding the conference season at home against Oregon (3-6) and Oregon State.

A March 3 nonconference game with Texas in Austin is a momentary break from the conference schedule.

The Trojans have no reason to be overconfident for their game with the Cougars, who extended USC before losing, 69-62, last month at CS Dominguez Hills.

Ken Mathia, a 7-foot sophomore center, was ill and didn’t play against the Trojans. But he was a factor against UCLA as he pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds. Another 7-footer, Todd Anderson, comes off the bench.

Morrison says that WSU has the best point guard in the league in 6-3 Keith Morrison, an ambidextrous shooter, who pounds the boards like a forward. WSU also has the conference’s second-leading scorer in 6-7 Joe Wallace, who is averaging 19 points a game.

“I watched the delayed TV tape of Washington State’s game with UCLA Thursday night and I was genuinely impressed with the Cougars,” Morrison said. “They had a lot of illness and injuries earlier in the season but they’re playing with a lot of enthusiasm now.”

But the Trojans have something going for them. Call it a road home-court advantage this season.

Trojan Notes Today’s game begins at 4 p.m. . . . Stan Morrison said that point guard Larry Friend (swollen knee), center Clayton Olivier (sore left ankle) and forward Derrick Dowell (sore knees) didn’t practice here Friday. “I’m really concerned about Derrick,” Morrison said. “We’ve played three games in seven days and he has really taken a pounding.” . . . Morrison didn’t utilize his reserves to any great extent in games with Oregon State and Washington. Forward Wayne Carlander played 40 minutes in each game. Wingman Ron Holmes played 40 minutes against Washington and Friend went 38 and 40 minutes the past two games. “My not substituting that much wasn’t done by design,” Morrison said. “For example, the tempo of the Washington game was such that it was difficult for players coming off the bench to get a feel for the game.” . . . USC was 1-13 on the road overall last season, winning only in Pullman. . . . It is rumored in Seattle that Alabama Birmingham Coach Gene Bartow and Mississippi State Coach Bob Boyd are among candidates to succeed Husky Coach Marv Harshman, who will retire at the end of the season. Boyd, the former USC coach, coached at Seattle University before taking the Trojan job in 1967. . . . Detlef Schrempf, Washington’s multitalented forward, didn’t get his first basket against USC until 10 minutes had elapsed in the second half. He finished with only eight points.