LOS ANGELES _ Throughout the week, USC coach Andy Enfield expressed confidence that his team would make the NCAA tournament, and "comfortably" too, he said with a hint of hopefulness. He said the line to anyone who asked.
That Enfield needed to campaign was evidence how the rest of the country felt: That USC, despite an undefeated nonconference record and 24 wins overall, was no lock. Still, Enfield said, he was not worried.
His faith was validated on Sunday, when USC watched from the Galen Center as it was named to the 68-team field as an 11th seed, playing in the preliminary round in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday. The game will be a rematch of last season's NCAA tournament first-round game, when USC lost to Providence, 70-69.
USC positioned itself there by cleaning up in the nonconference season, boosting its win total above that of many other bubble contenders. A win over Southern Methodist, which it would play on Friday with a victory over Providence, and later UCLA gave the Trojans badly needed wins against ranked opponents.
But February almost brought disaster. Amid a brutal stretch, including three in a row against top-10 teams, USC lost four games in a row. The last, a late collapse against Arizona State, almost was fatal. But the Trojans recovered with three wins in a row before bowing out in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to UCLA.
Asked once again after that close loss to the Bruins whether he thought USC was a tournament team, Enfield responded much as he had in the days prior.
"I think you saw tonight _ you tell me," he said. "I think we're a pretty good team. We've got 24 wins. You don't get 24 wins if you're not a good team."
The Trojans will have a chance to avenge a brutal loss in last season's NCAA tournament to Providence. USC led for most of that game but lost track of a Providence player on an inbounds pass with three seconds left and lost by one point.
This season's USC team won three more games than last season but lacked the top-50 wins that buoyed last season's candidacy. The Trojans believe that was only because of a lack of opportunity. Now they have a chance to prove it.
