No. 25 USC looks to bounce back versus Stanford

USC tries to bounce back from its first loss of the season when the No. 25 Trojans host Stanford in a Pac-12 Conference game Thursday night at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The Trojans (14-1, 1-1 Pac-12) hope to produce a much better performance after struggling in key areas of an 84-61 loss to No. 15 Oregon on Friday.

Stanford (8-6, 0-2) lost three of its last four games and five of seven. The Cardinal are coming off back-to-back losses to Arizona State and No. 17 Arizona.

Neither coach was pleased with his team's most recent outing. Stanford shot 33.9 percent from the field, made 3 of 16 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers while allowing Arizona to shoot a sizzling 62.5 percent, including 10 of 14 from beyond the arc.

"Our team was confident coming into this game," Stanford coach Jerod Haase said. "Our practices really have been good, but it didn't carry over to the game. Things went well for Arizona. They are an elite-level team."

USC shot 31 percent against Oregon. The Trojans also committed 17 turnovers. The Ducks shot 46.4 percent, made 8 of 20 from long distance and committed only six turnovers.

"We started out by missing a couple layups and some easy shots in the paint, and then they got hot and we couldn't make a shot," USC coach Andy Enfield said.

The Trojans knew they were in for a tough test against a red-hot Oregon squad that had upset No. 4 UCLA two days earlier. The Ducks, one of four ranked teams in the Pac-12, were the preseason conference favorites. Their win over USC was their 35th consecutive victory at home.

"We're upset that we lost, but I'm sure the other 34 teams that they beat here consecutively were upset, too," Enfield said after the game. "There's a reason they were ranked in the top five in the country preseason and there's a reason they've won 35 straight here, because they're a very good team."

USC, which entertain California on Sunday, is led by Elijah Stewart, Jordan McLaughlin and Chimezie Metu. Stewart is averaging 14.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. McLaughlin averages 14.1 points, 5.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds. Metu averages 12.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

Stewart, McLaughlin and Metu all struggled offensively in the loss to Oregon. They combined for 24 points on 5-of-25 shooting from the field. Metu missed 11 of his 12 field-goal attempts.

Reid Travis and Dorian Pickens have led the way for Stanford, which visits UCLA on Sunday. Travis is averaging 17.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. Pickens averages 13.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Travis was held to 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting against Arizona. Pickens had 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting and missed five of his six 3-point attempts. Stanford's starters combined to make 12 of 36 field-goal attempts.