Oklahoma @ Southern California preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 4, 2008 ) Southern California 72, Oklahoma 73

With all five starters returning from a team that set a school-record with 26 victories and made a surprising run to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament, the USC Trojans looked like a sleeper team to make it to their first Final Four since 1954. But the 25th-ranked Trojans will be trying to avoid a three-game losing streak when they face Oklahoma and freshman sensation Trae Young on Friday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame's Hoophall L.A. Classic at nearby Staples Center.

The Trojans (4-2) lost at home to No. 10 Texas A&M (75-59) and then at SMU (72-55), which went on a 22-3 second half run to win going away. Now they play their first neutral-court game of the season against an Oklahoma squad that is knocking on the top-25 door with a four-game win streak that includes a 90-80 neutral-floor win over 2017 Final Four participant Oregon in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, a contest that saw the 6-2 Young score a season-high 43 points to go along with a game-high seven assists and two steals. Young, who leads the nation in scoring with a 28.7 average, is looking forward to play on the same court of former Oklahoma star Blake Griffin of the Clippers not to mention the Lakers of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. "I've been able to play in the (Chicago) Bulls arena, the Brooklyn Nets arena, obviously Portland and now L.A.," Young said. "It's going to be fun. That's a legendary place to play. ... I can't wait for it."

TV: 10:30 p.m., ESPN2

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (6-1): Young doesn't just lead the nation in scoring by a wide margin -- second place Matt Young of Niagara (25.8) is almost three points behind -- but he also ranks third in the nation in assists (8.7) and is tied for 22nd in steals (2.43). "He's a handful," UTSA head coach Steve Henson said after Young had 28 points and eights assists in a 97-85 victory over the Roadrunners on Monday. "He's a handful in the open court, and he's too quick to really trap aggressively in our opinion, anyway, and you can't leave him out there one-on-one, either. Terrific player -- he's been doing a lot of good things." Junior guard Christian James (11.9 points) and senior forward Khadeem Lattin (11.1) also are averaging double figures with Lattin also averaging a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game.

ABOUT USC (4-2): The Trojans led 30-27 at halftime at SMU last Saturday but were outscored 45-25 in the second half by the Mustangs, a similar scenario to what happened six days earlier when Texas A&M used a late 19-3 run to pull away for a 16-point victory at the Galen Center. Senior point guard Jordan McLaughlin leads the Trojans, averaging 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, and likely will get the chore of trying to slow down Young. Chimezie Metu, a 6-11 forward, leads the team in scoring (16.0) and is tied for the lead in rebounding (7.7) with 6-10 forward Bennie Boatwright, who is second in scoring (15.3) but is shooting just 41.9 percent from the floor.

TIP-INS

1. Young has scored at least 28 points in five straight games.

2. USC, already without G De'Antthony Melton who is being withheld because of eligibility issues stemming from the FBI investigation of assistant coach Tony Bland, will also be without PG Derryck Thornton, a Duke transfer who is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after dislocating his right shoulder Nov. 28.

3. Oklahoma ranks second in the nation in scoring (94.4) behind Virginia Tech (96.6).

PREDICTION: Oklahoma 92, USC 87