Will Big Buildup Lead to Big Letdown?

Starting the season as a ranked team for the first time in more than 20 years will not by itself propel the Trojans to a successful season, Coach Henry Bibby said.

“We haven’t proven anything yet,” said Bibby of his No. 23 Trojans, who open the season Saturday against Bradley.

“Everything is speculation. It’s nice to show recruits you’re in this position. But we haven’t gotten carried away with [the ranking] yet. We haven’t shown this year we are deserving of the ranking. Hopefully, that will come in time.”

It will help the Trojans if they start fast.

Only four of their 12 nonconference games are out of state, and three are in Hawaii. USC opens with three consecutive home games for the first time since the 1988-89 season and plays four of its first five games at the Sports Arena. The fifth game is in the Wooden Classic contest against Utah at the Anaheim Pond.

“I won’t say our schedule is one of the most difficult in the nation,” guard Brandon Granville said. “But with all those home games, we have a chance to get people excited about USC basketball again. We definitely have our work cut out for us. But we’re a confident team and we think we can play with anybody in the nation.”

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Noting the quality and comfort level that the Trojan starting five brings to the court, Brian Scalabrine said it’s a group that could leave a mark in the school’s basketball history.

“This year I hope I don’t say, ‘We beat Stanford, that was such a big win for us.’ ” he said. “Hopefully, by now we should be able to compete with Arizona, Stanford and UCLA. I don’t think with Stanford and Arizona, it’s a big win when they beat each other. I think they realize they beat each other because they have good teams. When we beat them, it’s an upset. We’re trying to erase that.”