University Southern California Trojans
USC-Oregon Preview
January 25, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 25, 2001
LOS ANGELES (AP) - USC tries to stretch its home winning streak to 11 games when it faces Pac-10 opponent Oregon at the Sports Arena on Thursday.
The 25th-ranked Trojans (13-4, 3-2) dropped in the poll after consecutive defeats at UCLA and Arizona, but bounced back to defeat Arizona State, 77-58 in Tempe on Saturday.
USC was led by forward Sam Clancy, who had 28 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. The 6-foot-7 junior is second in the conference in scoring with 19.0 points a game, just slightly behind Oregon's Bryan Bracey, who is averaging 19.3 per contest.
"What's happening a lot is that people concentrate on Brian Scalabrine a lot," Trojans coach Henry Bibby said. "They go into the game saying, 'Brian is the guy, Brian is the guy,' and there's nobody that can cover Sam."
Against Pac 10 opponents, Clancy is averaging a league-high 22.8 points a game.
Oregon (11-4, 2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday as Bracey scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in an 81-66 win over Washington State.
After spending last season as Oregon's sixth man, averaging 8.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, Bracey leads Oregon in scoring and rebounding.
The senior forward is shooting 53.5 percent (100-of-187) from the field, and is the only player in the Pac-10 to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, field-goal, free-throw and 3-point percentage.
USC leads the all-time series 51-32, but Oregon has won the last three meetings. The last time the Trojans lost four in a row to the Ducks was over the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
