Beavers to Meet the Press

CORVALLIS, Ore. —  Given USC’s success with its full-court press last weekend, it would seem natural for the Trojans to employ it tonight against Oregon State and its plodding, deliberate style, right?

“That’s what I expect to do, right from the beginning,” Trojan senior point guard Brandon Granville said. “We’re probably going to come out and try to put a lot of pressure and get the game up-tempo, cause a lot of chaos.”

The Trojans pressed Stanford enough Saturday to force 27 turnovers.

And Oregon State is not Stanford. In Pacific 10 Conference games, the Beavers are the lowest-scoring team in the league (64.0) and the worst rebounding team (29.3). But they are second in three-point field goal percentage (42.1%) and in scoring defense (67.7).

“Oregon State plays such a methodical game that it kind of throws you off a little bit,” USC Coach Henry Bibby said. “They’re very precise in what they do. They’re very slow and they don’t pick up the pace, so ... we’re going to try to pick up the tempo a little more.

“I like the press, but I don’t like to press all the time. I think there are areas and times that you press, but I’m not a 40-minute press guy.”

TONIGHT

at Oregon State, 7

Site--Gill Coliseum, Corvallis.

Radio--KMPC (1540).

Records--No. 23 USC 15-4, 7-2 in Pac-10; Oregon State 10-9, 3-6.

Update--Oregon State has lost 11 games in a row to nationally ranked teams. The Beavers, riding a modest two-game winning streak, have not won three consecutive league games since 1999. Jerry Dupree, who is attending a funeral, and Derrick Craven, who has personal business, did not make the trip for USC.

Paul Gutierrez