Florida Gulf Coast @ Southern California preview

Florida Gulf Coast was the Cinderella team of the 2013 NCAA Tournament, becoming the first No. 15 seed to make it to the Sweet 16 with its entertaining "Dunk City" style of play. The coach of that team will be standing in front of the opposing bench Sunday night when the Eagles travel to Los Angeles to play USC in the final non-conference game for both teams.

Andy Enfield moved on to USC shortly after the Eagles defeated second-seeded Georgetown, 78-68, in the first round round and No. 7 seed San Diego State, 81-71, in the Round of 32 of the South Region before falling to third-seed Florida, 62-50, in the Sweet 16. It was the third deepest run by a first-time tournament team in NCAA history, behind only Larry Bird-led Indiana State advancing to the national championship game in 1979 and Charlotte and Georgia reaching the Final Four in 1977 and 1983, respectively. Enfield is now focused on trying to get the Trojans back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and took another step in that regard with a 70-68 victory over defending SEC regular-season champion LSU on Dec. 21 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the Staples Center. Florida Gulf Coast, picked to finish third in the Atlantic Sun preseason coaches poll, comes in off a 84-62 victory over NAIA Saint Thomas (Fla.) which snapped a six-game losing streak.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT FLORIDA GULF COAST (3-11): The Eagles suffered a couple of key losses before the season when returning starter Christian Carlyle, the team's only returning senior who averaged 8.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the entire season while athletic forward Troy Baxter Jr., a UNLV transfer who averaged 7.5 points, decided to turn pro. Sophomore guard Zach Scott is the lone returning starter from a team that finished 9-7 in the Atlantic Sun and leads the team in scoring (12.4) and steals (1.9). Guard Caleb Catto is the only other player averaging in double figures (11.2) while 6-8 junior center Justus Rainwater leads the team in rebounding with an average of 6.7 per game.

ABOUT USC (10-2): The Trojans have won four in a row since a 101-79 loss to Marquette in the semifinals of the Orlando Invitational including a 80-78 victory at TCU and last Saturday's win over LSU, both of which should carry a lot of weight when invitations to March Madness come around. Oneyka Okongwu, a 6-9 freshman forward who twice was named the winner of California's Mr. Basketball Award, leads the team in scoring (17.7), rebounding (9.0) and blocks (3.2) and is already being mentioned as a potential NBA Lottery pick next summer. Senior guard Jonah Mathews is second in scoring (12.6) while preseason first team All-Pac-12 pick Nick Rakocevic also is averaging in double digits (12.0) while also pulling down 8.3 rebounds per game.

TIP-INS

1. Rakocevic finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in the win over LSU, coming up just one rebound shy of his 24th career double-double.

2. Okongwu has five double-doubles and has scored at least 20 points in a game five times.

3. USC is 34-5 in its last 39 non-conference home games at the Galen Center.

PREDICTION: USC 87, Florida Gulf Coast 66