USC Men's Basketball Hopes To Return To The Top 25

The USC men's basketball team hopes the return of Bennie Boatwright will also help the Trojans return to the top 25 rankings in the nation. Victories over the Oregon schools this week should put them back into the conversation as one of the best teams in the nation.

The Trojans played Oregon State last Thursday and they battle No. 5 Oregon on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be played at the Galen Center on the USC campus. The Trojans are currently 20-4 overall and 7-4 in Pac-12 play which is good enough for fifth place. Oregon is 21-3 and 10-1 and they are No. 5 in the country and second in the Pac-12 behind first place Arizona.

With the return of sophomore forward Boatwright, who was out of the lineup for nine weeks with a knee injury, the Trojans seem to be ready to challenge the other elite teams in the Pac-12 Conference. Boatwright is a complete player who can score from the inside and outside and at 6'10 and 230 pounds, his length causes problems defensively for opposing teams.

The rest of the USC's players and coaching staff deserve a lot of credit for continuing to play at a high level while Boatwright was missing. Shaqquan Aaron, Charles Buggs, Jonah Mathews, Harrison Henderson, Chimezie Metu, Jordan McLaughlin, De'Anthony Melton, Elijah Stewart and Nick Rakocevic along with head coach Andy Enfield and his staff have created a winning atmosphere.

The lady Trojans women's basketball team is 12-11 overall and 3-9 in Pac-12 play. Their next two games are on the road against Oregon State on Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday against Oregon at 11 a.m.