Focus Is Directed at No. 1 Stanford

With the focused and hard manner in which USC has played against the supposed “name” programs of the Pacific 10 Conference -- beating UCLA at Westwood, splitting with Arizona, leading Stanford at the half at Palo Alto -- no one is questioning whether the Trojans will be focused for Thursday’s game in the Sports Arena against the newly crowned No. 1-ranked Cardinal.

Whether they can hand Stanford (21-0) its first loss is another question.

“The kids have a tendency to pick it up against ranked teams and we have played well against them,” Coach Henry Bibby said Monday. “Anything can happen and we’re going in optimistic and we feel we can beat them.”

USC is coming off an emotional high in ending a three-game losing streak, and a stretch in which it had dropped six of seven, with an overtime victory at Arizona State. It was a game in which Bibby said the Trojans displayed an intensity level similar to his 2001 team that advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.

“We played with intensity, we played with passion,” Bibby said. “We played defense and we executed.”

All attributes the Trojans will need in abundance if they plan to beat the Cardinal.

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The last time USC defeated a No. 1-ranked team was March 6, 1970, when the Trojans upended UCLA, 87-86, in Pauley Pavilion. USC was led in scoring in that game by Joe Mackey with 20 points and Paul Westphal with 18.

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On the injury front: freshman point guard Rodrick Stewart, who suffered a blow to the head taking a charge from Arizona State’s Jason Braxton on Saturday, was held out of practice Monday with a “lingering headache” as a precautionary measure, Bibby said. Stewart is expected to practice today.

Junior power forward Gregg Guenther, who had his second double-double this season with 10 points and 13 rebounds against the Sun Devils, sat out practice because of a sore lower back. Guenther, a tight end on the USC football team, had surgery for a herniated disk in 2000. He is not expected to sit out any more.