USC

With only a Tuesday night game against Arkansas State separating them from the start of Pacific 10 Conference play, the Trojans are taking stock of their strengths and weaknesses with an eye toward facing the likes of UCLA and Arizona.

“This is what nonconference play does for you,” Coach Henry Bibby said. “It makes you aware of what you need to work on.”

On offense, USC must become more patient and avoid falling into last season’s pattern of launching barrages of three-point shots, especially when the other team gets the lead.

“When you get down by seven points, you can’t shoot the basketball quickly,” Bibby said. “That plays into [the opponents’] hands.”

And that means concentrating on offensive execution, setting screens and trying to pass the ball into the lane to center Brian Scalabrine or forwards Sam Clancy and Jarvis Turner.

Said sophomore Jeff Trepagnier: “When we score a few times inside, that opens up the outside. The other team doubles down and we create some open outside shots.”

On defense, Bibby wants to avoid playing the full-court press or half-court trap too often. He wants his players “focused on stopping people and not going to gimmick defenses. That’s something we have to improve on--our man-to-man defense.”