Southern California @ Stanford preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2017 ) Stanford 56, Southern California 72

After an injury-plagued start to the season, Stanford finally recorded its first signature victory with Thursday’s 107-99 double-overtime win over UCLA. The Cardinal look to carry the much-needed momentum into Sunday’s matchup against visiting USC, which has lost 12 of its last 14 games at Maples Pavilion.

Senior wing Dorian Pickens had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win over UCLA while junior forward Reid Travis added 18 points and 11 boards as the Cardinal rallied from a 13-point deficit in the second half to snap the Bruins’ four-game winning streak. “The guys had a belief in something bigger than themselves, greater than themselves, when there wasn’t a whole lot to hold on to,” coach Jerod Haase told reporters. “There was a belief, for the first time since I’ve been at Stanford, that we can get this done.” Stanford will need another strong performance to get past USC, which has recorded back-to-back wins over Washington State and California following a seven-point loss to Washington. Forward Chimezie Metu averages 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds to lead the Trojans, who have forced a total of 39 turnovers in their last two games.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT USC (11-5, 2-1 Pac-12): Metu sat out the first half of Thursday’s 80-62 win over Cal for disciplinary reasons and was replaced in the starting lineup by Nick Rakocevic, who finished with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes. Forward Bennie Boatwright, the team’s second-leading scorer, added 15 points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s rout and has averaged 21.6 points over his last five games. Star forward De’Anthony Melton has missed all 16 games due to an alleged violations investigation, but the Trojans still rank fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring at 81.9 points per game.

ABOUT STANFORD (7-8, 1-1): Senior forward Michael Humphrey had 14 points and seven boards in the win over UCLA, but much of the heavy lifting was done by the freshmen trio of Daejon Davis, Kezie Okpala and Oscar da Silva, who combined for 43 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Pickens missed 11 games after injuring his left foot in the team’s second game but appeared fully healthy against UCLA, playing 44 minutes and shooting 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Bruins coach Steve Alford came away most impressed with Davis, who played 45 minutes and was 8-of-11 shooting from the field.

TIP-INS

1. Stanford holds a 125-124 lead in the all-time series and has won five of the last six meetings.

2. USC is seeking to win its first two conference road games for the first time since 2007.

3. Stanford is concluding a stretch of eight consecutive games in the state of California.

PREDICTION: USC 79, Stanford 74