Defense displeases Floyd

Like a last-minute Christmas shopper, Tim Floyd has a list with several items to tick off before USC opens Pacific 10 Conference play against California on Jan. 3 at Berkeley.

While his Trojans held their eighth consecutive opponent to 62 points or fewer Saturday during a 78-55 victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the USC coach said he was displeased with his team’s interior defense.

Even with a smallish front line, Cal Poly grabbed 10 offensive rebounds -- three more than the Trojans did -- and scored nearly half its points in the paint.

“They got the ball deep on us, and those guys aren’t exactly Brook Lopez and Kevin Love and some of the guys we’re going to be playing in our league,” Floyd said Saturday night.

USC also continued its season-long struggles with free throws, making 14 of 22 attempts (63.6%). The Trojans had ranked sixth in the Pac-10 in free-throw percentage entering the week and are shooting 66.8% for the season.

If there was one positive to the foul-shooting situation it was that USC continued to make more free throws than its opponent attempted. For the season, the Trojans have made 159 free throws and their opponents have attempted only 139.

Floyd said he was pleased that his team continued to shoot well from the field -- USC shot 53.8% following a 68.1% performance against Delaware State -- and tallied more assists than turnovers for a second consecutive game.

“You’re seeing the next extra pass so often, so much more than we did early,” Floyd said. “Early the ball was just dying when it hit a guy’s hands, and four guys would stand and watch a guy go dribble.”

Floyd also liked that his team was finding a rhythm on offense after winning primarily on the strength of its defense earlier in the season.

“Every team has to have an identity, and we want that to be part of our identity, not our entire identity on the defensive end but playing smart and playing unselfish on the offensive end as well,” he said.

Another encouraging sign was the re-emergence of sophomore forward Taj Gibson, who ended a four-game slide by finishing with nine points and 13 rebounds in only 25 minutes. Gibson said his left ankle, which has bothered him since he sprained it in late October, has responded to rehabilitation and a series of intense practices.

“I felt a little better with my ankle, just getting off my feet a lot quicker,” Gibson said.

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For the first time in Floyd’s three seasons at USC, his team will play a post-Christmas nonconference game before opening Pac-10 play. The Trojans play host to UC Riverside on Saturday at the Galen Center.

The players will take off today and Tuesday before holding an evening practice Wednesday.

Freshman guard O.J. Mayo said he would spend Christmas in his dorm instead of returning home to West Virginia.

“I’m going to stay and work out, lift and get some shots up,” he said.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com