Arizona on Road Big Test for USC

Coach Henry Bibby said the Trojans didn’t play UCLA as if they knew what was at stake, and that was one reason they lost last week.

The Bruins played as if they understood every Pacific 10 Conference game is precious and the battle to finish in the top four to get an NCAA tournament berth will be fierce.

The 24th-ranked Trojans better know what’s at stake this weekend in the Arizona desert.

If the Trojans are serious about winning the Pacific 10 title, the 17th-ranked Wildcats, who host USC tonight, are one of the teams they must beat. Then on Saturday they face Arizona State, a team that has not won a conference game.

“This is big-time basketball,” Bibby said. “This is the top of the class, where we are. That’s why I say the important game is the next one we play. That game is never any bigger than the last one we played. You have to win the game in front of you.”

But just as important, USC must get its road act together. Since defeating Oregon State at Corvallis last Jan. 29, the Trojans have lost their last six conference road games.

Of course, every road game has been tough on USC. All three losses this season have been away from the Sports Arena, although one of them (against Mississippi) was at a neutral site in Hawaii.

Playing the Wildcats in McKale Center is difficult enough. “They are probably the most athletic team in the Pac-10,” Bibby said. “And they’re not hitting on all cylinders.

But Arizona (10-5, 3-1) will get an added emotional boost from the return of Coach Lute Olson, who lost his wife of 47 years, Bobbi, to cancer on Jan. 1.

“I haven’t thought about it yet,” said Olson, when asked about stepping back on the court tonight. “But the McKale crowd is going to help that team win. That’s been the one consistent thing that we can count on here.”

The USC players understand they must stay calm during the game’s opening five or six minutes, and withstand Arizona’s initial adrenaline surge with Olson back on the sidelines.

“It’s going to be a real upbeat crowd, and [Arizona’s] gonna look to end it early,” forward David Bluthenthal said. “We have to be patient on offense, and defensively we can’t lose our man. Just play smart.”

Forward Sam Clancy, who sat out last season’s game at Arizona because of a broken foot, wants to make his presence felt this time.

“Even though I didn’t play last year, we should have won the game,” he said. “We had them on the ropes, but things got away from us. We’ve got to go in there and play good, all-around team basketball. We can’t let them go on runs like UCLA did because it would be difficult to come back from a big deficit.”

Although the Trojans have lost their last 13 games at Tucson, Olson said a win is not automatic.

“This is a very good basketball team which creates a lot of problems defending them,” Olson said of USC. “Their big guys are good; [Brian] Scalabrine can shoot, pass or put it on the floor. Clancy is a powerful guy who’s not that different from Michael Wright, in terms of what he brings to the court. And they have good leadership at the point.

“They are a good team, and that can be determined by their record.”

Except on the road.