Floyd doesn’t hesitate to shake up the lineup

Trying to figure out which starting lineup Coach Tim Floyd is going to use from game to game is like trying to guess which suitcase holds the $1 million on “Deal or No Deal.”

USC has used eight different starting lineups in 20 games, including three in its last three games.

Senior guard Lodrick Stewart and freshman forward Taj Gibson are the only players to have started every game.

While matchups usually dictate Floyd’s lineups, he occasionally makes changes in an attempt to shake his regulars out of a funk. He inserted former walk-on Greg Gaudino into the lineup last season against Washington State and went with a lineup that included reserves Keith Wilkinson, Kevin Galloway and Dwight Lewis this season against Wichita State.

Stanford recently moved both of the 7-foot Lopez twins -- Robin and Brook -- into its starting lineup, so might Floyd start 6-11 Abdoulaye N’diaye in addition to the 6-9 Gibson on Thursday when the teams play at Maples Pavilion?

Not necessarily.

“It depends. We might go small,” Floyd said. “I don’t know what we’ll do and I probably won’t tell ... because I don’t want them to prepare in practice with that in mind.”

If the Trojans go small, they would probably put 6-6 swingman Nick Young on one of the Lopez twins.

Robin Lopez is averaging 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds and has started all 17 games. Brook Lopez is averaging 8.7 points and 4.3 rebounds and has made four starts.

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USC may be ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll, but the Trojans have some catching up to do in the Ratings Percentage Index, another component considered by the NCAA tournament selection committee.

USC was No. 60 in the NCAA’s latest RPI figures, behind such unheralded programs as Appalachian State (43) and Davidson (58).

The Trojans also trail their next two opponents, Stanford (37) and California (42).

USC’s mediocre RPI figure can be largely attributed to a nonconference schedule that included the Citadel, Mississippi Valley State, Bethune-Cookman, Charleston Southern and Longwood.

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ben.bolch@latimes.com