USC’s Nikola Vucevic plans to counter UCLA’s plan

UCLA freshman center Joshua Smith believes he knows how to dash USC’s hopes of winning when the teams play Wednesday.

The way Smith sees it, all the Bruins have to do is get one of the Trojans’ starting 6-foot-10 forwards, senior Alex Stepheson or junior Nikola Vucevic, in foul trouble.

Once one is done, so too is USC, or at least that has often been the case for most of the last two seasons.

Smith on Monday identified that as the plan for UCLA (14-7, 6-3 in Pacific 10 Conference play) heading into the game at Pauley Pavilion, to which USC Coach Kevin O’Neill countered Tuesday.

“That’s good strategy on Josh’s part, but we hope it doesn’t happen,” O’Neill said.

Unlike UCLA, USC (12-10, 4-5) has virtually no frontline depth behind Stepheson and Vucevic, which was clear in losses to California and Arizona.

But that didn’t matter much in the Trojans’ 63-52 win over UCLA on Jan. 9.

Then, it was Smith who got in foul trouble, finishing with eight points in 22 minutes. Vucevic and Stepheson combined for only three fouls, 33 points and 20 rebounds.

Conversely, the Trojans plan to do to UCLA what the Bruins aim to do to them: Attack their two talented big men and get them in foul trouble.

Vucevic said he and Stepheson need to control where Smith and sophomore forward Reeves Nelson catch the ball early in possessions by forcing them to catch it outside the lane rather then beneath or even near the basket.

And then USC needs to do the opposite when it’s on offense.

“We’re going to try to go inside early and get them in foul trouble to make it easier for us,” Vucevic said.

Longtime coming

Stepheson was asked when was the last time USC defeated UCLA five times in a row, as it could accomplish Wednesday.

“Has that ever been done before?” he said.

Well, yes. USC had a 42-game winning streak against UCLA from 1932 to 1943.

A victory against UCLA, which is 5-1 since losing to USC, would give the Trojans momentum, O’Neill said.

“We’re 2-4 since we played them, so if you want to go into the media talk, we’re two teams headed in different directions the last six games,” he said.

Added O’Neill: “If we’re fortunate to win, it would be huge for us. I’m sure they’re thinking the same thing. They’ve got four in a row at home coming up …so they’ve got a chance to cement an NCAA tournament bid over the next couple weeks.

“For us, we’re trying to fight our way back into that picture.”

New wrinkle

O’Neill said he will reverse the roles of junior guard Jio Fontan and freshman guard Maurice Jones against UCLA, with Fontan playing point guard and Jones playing shooting guard.

O’Neill said it’s an effort to take pressure off the 5-foot-7, 155-pound Jones, who has seemingly worn down while playing a Pac-10-high 36.6 minutes per game.

Jones, who is averaging 10.1 points and leads USC in assists (80) and steals (52), said he’s fine with the move, which could last for several games.

“I played off the ball in high school a lot, so it’s not really a big change for me,” Jones said.

baxter.holmes@latimes.com