Trojans, Winless in Pac-10, Play Today

Having lost its last five games, USC’s basketball team will try to rebound against Arizona State today at 3 p.m. in the Sports Arena.

If the Trojans are to defeat the Sun Devils, they will probably need a better effort from guard Anthony Pendleton, the team’s leading scorer. Pendleton, who is averaging 15.1 points a game, had a season-low 4 points in Thursday night’s 97-69 loss to Arizona at the Sports Arena.

“Arizona did a good job on Pendleton,” USC Coach George Raveling said. “They didn’t give him any good shots. They took him out of the game.

“This has been the most intriguing season I’ve ever been involved in,” Raveling said. “It’s like drilling for oil, but it seems like we’ve been hitting a lot of rocks. But I still believe that if we can get by this, we can put together a good string of wins.”

USC is 7-9 overall and 0-5 in Pacific 10 Conference play. Arizona State is 8-7 and 2-5.

The Sun Devils are hurting. Point guard Tarence Wheeler is out for the season with a knee injury, and center Emory Lewis is sidelined with an ankle injury.