Southern California @ Vanderbilt preview

No. 11 USC hits the road for the first time this season when it visits Vanderbilt on Sunday night. And the Trojans, who have Final Four aspirations with a squad that returns all five starters from a school-record 26-win team, will be looking to put together a much more complete game than their last contest, a sloppy 75-65 victory over visiting North Dakota State.

The Trojans twice trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and by five, 56-51, with 9:27 to go before finally taking charge with a 19-4 run, highlighted by eight points from,6-10 junior forward Bennie Boatwright. "We did not play well offensively," USC coach Andy Enfield told the Los Angeles Times. "We missed open shots, we missed layups, we missed dunks and we missed 14 freed throws (in 31 attempts)." Still, the Trojans won going away against a team expected to contend in the Summit League thanks to a career-high 28 points by Boatwright, considered a potential first-round NBA Draft pick. "He's becoming a more versatile player," Enfield said of Boatwright, who finished 10-of-17 from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network

ABOUT USC (2-0): Boatwright, who missed 17 games last season with knee and back injuries, leads the team in scoring (20.5 points per game) and blocks (3.0) and is tied for second in rebounding (7.0) while shooting 51.9 percent from the floor. Chimezie Metu, a 6-11 junior with 113 career blocks who is another likely NBA first-round pick, is second on the team in scoring (16.0) while grabbing a team best 8.5 rebounds per game and is also 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Senior point guard Jordan McLaughlin, who ranks second in school history in assists with 467, also is averaging in double figures (12.0), is tied with Boatwright for second in rebounding (7.0) and also leads the team in steals (2.5) and assists (5.0).

ABOUT VANDERBILT (2-1): The Commodores, who return three starters from a team that lost to Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, come in off a 79-76 home win over UNC Ashville in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off on Friday night. Like USC, the Commodores had to rally from a 10-point first half deficit to pull out the win. which came just four days after a 69-60 loss at Belmont. Senior forward Jeff Roberson, senior guard Riley LaChance and senior swingman Matthew Fisher-Davis each scored 17 points to lead Vandy against UNC Ashville, with Roberson also grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. This is the first of a home-and-home series between the Trojans and Commodores with the two teams playing in Los Angeles next season. USC leads the series 4-1, but this is the first meeting since the 1975-76 season.

2. Roberson's double-double was his third of the season and 11th of his career.

3. Vanderbilt has made a 3-pointer in 1,001 consecutive games which ranks third longest in Division I behind Kentucky (1,017) and UNLV (1,009).

PREDICTION: USC 78, Vanderbilt 74