Trojans Believe They Might Have Slight Advantage

USC didn’t need any more incentive for today’s game against Kentucky in the East Regional semifinal of the NCAA tournament.

The sixth-seeded Trojans (23-9), who finished fourth in the Pacific 10 Conference, have already advanced further in the tournament than most college basketball aficionados expected them to, having reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in the NCAA’s current postseason format.

But the team got that extra mental boost anyway.

From the moment USC came to practice at First Union Center, where the game tips off at 4:30 p.m. PST, all the Trojans heard about was the Kentucky-Duke rematch coming Saturday. That’s assuming the second-seeded Wildcats roll the Trojans and the top-seeded Blue Devils dispatch fourth-seeded UCLA.

“I was talking to some of the Kentucky writers today,” Brian Scalabrine said. “And they seem to think we’re a joke. That we’ll lose because Kentucky is Kentucky and we’re USC.

“I know the rest of the country probably wants to see Duke and Kentucky. But I’m pretty sure the people in Los Angeles want to see USC and UCLA.”

It’s one thing to feel confident about beating the 24-9 Wildcats, who won the Southeastern Conference tournament and earned their 37th trip to a regional semifinal by defeating Holy Cross and Iowa last week. And make no mistake, the Trojans--who got past the second round for the first time in 47 years, by beating Oklahoma State and Boston College--are confident.

None more so than Coach Henry Bibby.

“Nothing concerns me about Kentucky,” Bibby said. “It’s kind of nice to be the underdog. Kentucky has a great name and a great tradition. But we’ve played some very good basketball teams. Everyone is looking at the other big three [Duke, UCLA, Kentucky] and it’s like we’re the spoke on the wheel that’s broke.”

But it will take more than confidence to tame the Wildcats, who have won 21 of their last 25 games.

Lead item on the Trojans’ to-do list: stop or at least slow down Tayshaun Prince. The Wildcats’ junior forward has mauled every opposing defense lately, averaging 23 points in Kentucky’s last five wins. He has made 54% of his shots in that span (38 of 71), including 55% on three-point attempts.

“Who guards him? I’d say everybody,” USC forward David Bluthenthal said. “All five of us are gonna have to take a shot at him, and find out who does the best. Because even if he has a slow start, you know he’ll keep shooting. He can have zero points in the first half and go for 25 in the second half. We’re definitely going to have to be aware of him for 40 minutes.”

Prince may be Kentucky’s--and the tournament’s--hottest player, but he’s not the only one the Wildcats can count on for baskets. Sophomore guard Keith Bogans is the team’s second-best scorer, averaging 16.8 points. He also has the size (6 feet 5, 205 pounds) to guard either Jeff Trepagnier or Bluthenthal, depending on Kentucky’s defensive scheme.

Bogans said Kentucky’s confidence is also high.

“I think we match up perfect with USC,” Bogans said. “We’re almost the same size at every position; they’re very athletic and we’re very athletic. But they play six or seven guys who are pretty athletic, and we play 12.”

The other hot topic: Can the Trojans handle the Wildcats’ full-court pressure better than they did against Boston College? Or did the Eagles, who forced 27 turnovers, expose some fatal flaws?

“I think people made too much of Boston’s press,” Scalabrine said. “We made big-time adjustments at the game, and more today. I don’t feel [Kentucky’s press] will be a problem. Besides, you can’t think that way going into the game. You have to know you’re going to be efficient and the press won’t work.”

Kentucky forces 16.3 turnovers a game. But senior guard Saul Smith didn’t make the Wildcats’ press sound as voracious as the Eagles’.

“Boston’s press was pretty effective in certain respects,” Smith said. “But USC did a pretty good job of handling it. They have good leadership at the guard position, so it’s difficult to press those kinds of teams.

“We do want to put pressure on the ball and trap when the dribbler turns his head and takes up the ball. That’s similar to Boston. But we don’t want to take too many chances and get burned, because we don’t have that much experience in the back line of defense.”

Kentucky, which last won the national championship in 1998, has brought more seasoned teams to the tournament than this group, which added seven new faces to the roster this year.

The Wildcats have a tradition of winning these games, however. The Trojans don’t. That may be USC’s biggest hurdle.

“I think, to a certain extent, our kids have surprised themselves,” Bibby said. “But I always believed we could get this far. I still don’t think the kids understand what one more win would mean to this program.

“We respect everyone. But we’re not fearing Kentucky, and they’re not fearing us. The question is, are we ready to play? Are we focused? This is the type of team that has to be pushed into a corner. They have been up and down, but when it’s time to play they are ready.”