USC’s Dowell Doubtful for Stanford : Team’s Leading Scorer, Rebounder Has Flu, Back Spasms

It has been generally assumed that if USC’s young basketball team is going to make any impact in the Pacific 10 race, then senior forward Derrick Dowell must be the catalyst.

Dowell is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder and has been an effective and consistent performer this season--until Friday night.

Dowell, who was previously averaging 23.4 points a game, had an off night against California. He missed on 9-of-14 shots and wound up with a quiet 16 points.

“It was just one of those games,” USC Coach George Raveling said Sunday. “He took quite a few bad shots, had some air balls and had only one field goal at halftime. If he had a normal game, we would have won.”

USC barely lost, 79-76, and now there’s the prospect that Dowell won’t be able to play against Stanford in a 7:30 game tonight at the Sports Arena.

Raveling said that Dowell didn’t practice Sunday. He has the flu and is bothered by back spasms.

If Dowell can’t play, Raveling will go with a a starting lineup consisting of guards Rich Grande and Ivan Harris, center Rod Keller and forwards Bob Erbst and Brad Winslow.

The Trojans, 0-3 in the conference and 5-6 overall, haven’t beaten Stanford (1-2, 7-5) since the 1983-84 season. Even when USC was the co-champion of the Pac-10 in 1984-85, it was swept by the Cardinal.

USC couldn’t seem to handle Stanford’s pressing tactics and the bounce-passing techniques employed by Tom Davis’s team.

But Davis is no longer Stanford’s coach. He has moved on to Iowa, where Raveling formerly coached.

Mike Montgomery is the new Stanford coach, and USC will be preparing for a different style.

“Stanford runs a flex offense, which is a lot of down screening and they’ll vary back and forth between a 2-3 zone and man to man,” Raveling said. “I’m impressed by the way their players have picked up his system.”

Stanford is led by guard Todd Lichti, an All-Pac 10 selection last season. However, Lichti made only 4-of-14 shots as Stanford lost to UCLA, 95-75, Friday night at Pauley Pavilion.

USC will be returning to the Sports Arena for the first time since Dec. 13 when it played Western Washington.

The Trojans had a supposed “home court” at Loyola Marymount for the Cal game. But it didn’t turn out that way. There was seemingly more support for Cal than USC.

“You couldn’t believe it,” Raveling said. “Cal brought its band and it’s the first time since I’ve been associated with Pac-10 basketball that I’ve ever seen a visiting team take a crowd like that on the road for a conference game. I hope that sets a trend in the league.”