 "Photo: Gary Fung | Daily Trojan")
Early last week, USC men's basketball coach Tim Floyd decided if the Trojans beat California on Thursday, they would experiment against No. 7 Stanford on Saturday.
One of those experiments was the full-court press, a defensive tactic USC hadn't used all season. After USC beat Cal, the Trojans decided it was worth a shot against one of the conference's best rebounding teams.
The experiment worked as USC held Stanford to just 32 percent shooting and out-rebounded the Cardinal by 16 in the Trojans' 77-64 win at the Galen Center on Saturday.
"It was the first time we've pressed all year long, and our guys were able to get that in the game and speed up the pace," Floyd said. "We wanted to play a fast pace because they're so efficient in a half-court game."
The Trojans (20-10, 11-7 Pac-10) used the full-court press to disrupt the Cardinal's rhythm on offense, and limited the production of Stanford's 7-foot twins, Robin and Brook Lopez. It also allowed USC to score easier baskets in transition.
"That press defense helped us out a lot," said sophomore forward Taj Gibson, who scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. "Coach Floyd is a genius on the defensive end, and we just got good feedback and used it to our advantage."
The Trojans held the Lopez twins to 27 combined points and 14 rebounds as USC out-rebounded its opponents for the sixth straight time this season after being out-rebounded in 11 of the first 12 Pac-10 games.
But it was still a surprise that the Trojans did well against the conference's second best rebounding team.
"I wouldn't have imagined it, but we needed it because early in the season we were out-rebounded by a lot of teams," Gibson said. "But it was important to get this win and we out-rebounded them and it's good for us, giving us momentum for the Pac-10 Tournament."
Instead of the Lopez twins hurting the Trojans, it was little used walk-on guard Kenny Brown, who came in averaging just 3.4 points and 9.3 minutes per game. But Brown led the Cardinal (24-6, 13-5) with 19 points in 31 minutes, making four 3-pointers.
"We probably didn't give Kenny Brown enough respect as far as his ability to shoot it," Floyd said.
The Trojans got plenty of help from their guards, as well as freshman O.J. Mayo, who scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds while sophomore Dwight Lewis added 14 points and four rebounds.
Freshman forward Davon Jefferson scored 11 points and had six rebounds.
The game might have been Mayo's last at the Galen Center as many expect the star freshman to go pro after the season. But after the game, Mayo said, for now, he's preparing to come back.
"So far, I'll be back next year, so class-wise I'm signing up for summer school [in] the next two weeks," Mayo said. "So far, I'll be returning."
But Mayo then said things could change after the season, and he wants to focus on playing right now and preparing for next week's Pac-10 Tournament.
Floyd echoed those statements, and said it's not the right time to talk about Mayo's future.
"We'll be responsible and do what's right for him," Floyd said. "He'll do the right thing when that decision occurs."
But Floyd was more than willing to talk about USC's future, especially in regards to the NCAA Tournament after reaching 20 wins.
"I do believe we're in the NCAA Tournament," Floyd said. "Numbers don't mean anything if you're trying to advance."
Floyd also said the Trojans were happy to get a win because of fears of a letdown after essentially clinching an NCAA berth when they beat Cal on Thursday.
"I think both teams were worried about a letdown a little bit because we felt like we got into the NCAA Tournament and we've been playing in big games for seven weeks since starting 0-3," Floyd said. "Our kids just played inspired and played unselfishly."
