North Dakota State @ Southern California preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 20, 2008 ) North Dakota State 57, Southern California 61

With all five starters back from a team that won a school-record 26 games and advanced to the Round of 32, USC is considered a serious threat to make their first Final Four since 1954. The big question for the 11th-ranked Trojans, who host North Dakota State on Monday night, is off the court where associate head coach Tony Bland was indicted by a federal grand jury in New York last week for four charges in the FBI's sprawling college basketball bribery and corruption investigation.

Bland is on administrative leave but there still is a dark cloud hanging over the program as two unidentified players -- a freshman and a sophomore -- could have their eligibility affected for accepting illegal payments from Bland. To that end, nine minutes before USC's season opening 84-42 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday, the school issued a statement saying that sophomore guard De'Anthony Melton, who averaged 8.3 points and led the Pac-12 with 69 steals, was being held out of action "as a precaution." USC still bolted out to a 42-15 halftime lead, holding the Titans to just 15.4 percent shooting (4-of-26) in the first half. "As I've stated before, it's been a challenge on a program level and personal level when you have a distraction," fifth-year head coach Andy Enfield said. "We all care about each other and so we have to try and stay focused on what we can do and that's try to prepare to win basketball games and come together as a team and get better. And I give our players credit; they've done that."

TV: 11 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network

ABOUT NORTH DAKOTA STATE (0-1): The Bison, who return three starters from a team that went 19-11 and finished second in the Summit League last season, opened their season a few hours north at UC Santa Barbara with an 85-66 loss to the Gauchos. Senior guard Paul Miller, voted to the preseason all-Summit League first team for the second straight year, led the Bison with 18 points and six assists but was just 4-of-13 from the field. Senior swingman A.J. Jacobsen, who like Miller has scored 1,000 points in his career, added 10 points while sophomore forward Deng Geu and freshman guard Cameron Hunter each scored 11 points off the bench.

ABOUT USC (1-0): The Trojans hardly missed Melton in their opening win, holding Cal State Fullerton to 23.3 percent shooting while forcing 21 turnovers. Chimezie Metu, a 6-foot-11 junior forward who was named the Pac-12's Most Improved Player last season, led the way with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks while 6-10 junior forward Bennie Boatwright, also considered a potential NBA first round draft pick, chipped in with 13 points, including 2-of-6 3-pointers, six rebounds and three blocks. Senior point guard Jordan McLaughlin, who ranks second on USC's career assists list with 463, is back to lead the team and scored 12 points in the opener.

TIP-INS

1. USC senior G Elijah Stewart, who had six points in the opener, enters Monday night's game with 987 career points.

2. Sophomore PG Derryck Thornton, who averaged 7.1 points and 2.6 assists at Duke in 2015-16, scored 11 points and hit 3-of-4 3-pointers in his USC debut.

3. North Dakota State is 3-14 against ranked opponents in Division I play and has lost its last six in a row since a 80-75 overtime victory over No. 21 Oklahoma in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.

PREDICTION: USC 94, North Dakota State 58