Trojans, With a New Offensive Look, Play Host to Western Kentucky Tonight

The USC basketball team, coming off a double-overtime victory on the road last Wednesday against California, meets Western Kentucky in a nonconference game tonight at 7:30 at the Sports Arena.

The Trojans are 2-7 overall; the Hilltoppers are 7-1.

The Cal game, which USC won despite committing 28 turnovers, signaled a change of philosophy of sorts for the Trojans. They went from a running and pressing team to being more deliberate, and turned a 13-point deficit into a victory.

It also helped Brad Winslow regain his shooting touch. The senior guard lost his starting job by hitting just 24% from the field (6 of 25) in the first seven games. He was only 1 for 7 in the Pacific 10 Conference opener against Stanford before making 6 of 11 shots, including 4 of 7 three-pointers, against Cal.

Western Kentucky returned only one starter, guard Brett McNeal, from last season’s 29-9 team, which beat USC by 30 points at Bowling Green, Ky.