GAME NOTES: The USC Trojans will attempt to start the season off on a high note, as they take on the Portland State Vikings in a non-league tussle at the Galen Center on Saturday night.

A wild run at the end of last season allowed Portland State to bounce back from a disastrous 2012-13 campaign. The Vikings won six of seven games down the stretch, including a 70-63 upset of Montana in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. Although they then lost back-to-back games, including an 87-65 setback against San Diego in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, the late winning streak pushed them to a 17-15 finish. It was quite a recovery from the dismal 8-20 record they earned the previous year.

USC made big headlines last season when it hired Andy Enfield away from Florida Gulf Coast. Unfortunately, Enfield made more of a flop than a splash in his first season on the job, as the Trojans finished just 11-21 overall and were a miserable 2-16 in Pac-12 Conference play. It was actually a step back for the Trojans, who had won 14 games the previous season, the last of Kevin O'Neil's four-year run. At the very least, the 2013-14 Trojans were better than the 2011-12 squad, which won only six games.

In the only previous meeting between these two programs, which occurred during the 1977-78 season, USC notched an 87-78 victory.

Portland State's greatest strength is its backcourt. The Vikings employ three guards who play extremely well together, as DaShaun Wiggins (12.9 ppg) and Gary Winston (11.3 ppg) provide the scoring punch, and Tim Douglas (11.8 ppg, 3.1 apg) runs the point, while supplying additional firepower. Douglas is the most reliable of the three, as he played in all 32 games last season and was the only player on the roster to average more than 30 minutes per game (34.8). Wiggins was a sparkplug off the bench, but he could shift to a starting slot this season. Meanwhile, Winston is a lethal shooter from 3-point range, connecting on 42.2 percent from that distance last season. He has also improved his scoring average by nearly four points between his sophomore and junior seasons. For all the strength at guard, the Vikings have a lot of questions up front, especially with Kyle Richardson (10 ppg, 6.3 rpg) no longer around.

When Enfield was firmly fixed in the national spotlight during FGCU's stunning NCAA Tournament run a couple of years ago, he was heralded for his offensive prowess. The Trojans did not successfully latch on to his system last season, however, as they ranked 10th in the Pac-12 in both scoring (70.6 ppg) and field goal percentage (.439). On top of that, the Trojans were extremely weak on defense, allowing foes to score just over 75 ppg. Enfield lost a lot from last season's team. Leading scorer Byron Wesley (17.8 ppg) decided to transfer to Gonzaga, and Pe'Shon Howard (10.8 ppg), Omar Oraby (8.2 ppg, 6 rpg) and J.T. Terrell (9.7 ppg) are all gone as well. Julian Jacobs (6.6 ppg) and Nikola Jovanovic (8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) are the most experienced players left on the roster.

USC is clearly a totally different team than last season. That may be a good thing, as Enfield was never able to get much consistency out of his new team. In year two, the Trojans could experience more success, and that should begin with a win over Portland State.