Morrison Expected Back Tonight

Bruin guard Brian Morrison practiced this week for the first time since injuring a hamstring Dec. 20 and is expected to play tonight against USC.

How much? Well, if the way Coach Ben Howland incorporated freshman forward Trevor Ariza is an indication, Morrison could play 30 minutes or more.

After sitting out three games because of a collapsed lung, Ariza played 32 minutes in his first game despite Howland’s having said he would get “limited minutes.”

Morrison, considered essential to the Bruins’ long-term fortunes, could get a similar workload as long as the hamstring feels strong.

“He did well [in practice] considering he hasn’t done anything for five weeks,” Howland said.

Morrison’s absence has been most noticeable on offense. Opponents have successfully employed zone defenses because the Bruins do not shoot well from the perimeter, and Morrison made 45.9% of his 37 three-point shots in the six games he played.

But the junior transfer from North Carolina also is an asset on defense, especially getting back after missed shots and preventing fastbreaks.

“He’s the best shooting guard we have at transition defense, and in being vocal and directing teammates,” Howland said. “He also does the best job trailing shooters and staying next to them.

“This makes me realize even more that he is very important to our team. I’m hoping it won’t take him more than a week to get back where he was” before the injury.

Morrison’s return could enable Dijon Thompson to play more minutes at small forward, where he feels more comfortable. Thompson has been the shooting guard since Morrison’s injury.

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Howland does not expect USC to follow the lead of Arizona, Stanford and California and use a zone defense.

“They will play the way they play,” he said. “They won’t be influenced by what others have done. They will press, trap in the half court. They will zone us at times and also use some man to man. They get people to speed up faster than they want to go.”

USC has 173 steals, an average of 10.18, far and away the best in the Pacific 10 Conference. Stanford is second with 119.

“They are really athletic,” Howland said. “And they have the depth to keep fresh bodies in there. They are constantly attacking the basketball.”

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Ryan Hollins will start at center instead of Michael Fey, whose struggles continued during the Bay Area trip.

Howland admitted that starting Fey instead of Hollins against California on Saturday was a mistake.

“I felt like we had to get off to a good start offensively, and it was a bad call on my part,” he said. “We’ve got to match up the best we can defensively.”

TONIGHT

USC at UCLA

7:30, Fox Sports Net 2

Site -- Pauley Pavilion.

Radio -- XTRA 690/1150, KMPC 1540.

Records -- USC 8-9, 3-5; UCLA 9-6, 5-3.

Update -- USC has won three of the last four against the Bruins after dropping 13 of 14 in the series from 1995 to 2001. The Trojans are expected to start freshman twins Lodrick and Rodrick Stewart, and have junior twins Errick and Derrick Craven come off the bench. Trojan senior Desmon Farmer averages 19.5 points. Thompson leads UCLA with a 14.8 scoring average.