COLLEGE BASKETBALL : USC Plays Host to Cal at Loyola Marymount Tonight

The USC basketball team will not get to play at the Sports Arena--an ice show once again having forced the Trojans to find a temporary home--but it will play in Southern California tonight for the first time since Dec. 13. The Trojans face California at 7:30 p.m. in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Loyola Marymount.

USC Coach George Raveling picked the Bears to win the Pac-10 title this season, and they are off to a 2-0 start (8-4 overall) after wins over Oregon State and Oregon last week at Berkeley. Coach Lou Campanelli’s team recently finished fourth in the Rainbow Tournament in Hawaii, where it defeated 19th-ranked Florida, 83-80.

Leonard Taylor, a junior center who is averaging 19.9 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, and senior Kevin Johnson, an All-Pacific 10 guard last season who is averaging 14.4 points in 1986-87, lead Cal, which has four senior starters.

Forward Derrick Dowell (23.4) is the only person in double figures for USC (5-5 overall, 0-2 in the Pac-10). He has scored 30 or more points four times.

“I like the idea of our guys finally sleeping in their own beds and eating home-cooked meals,” Raveling said. “And playing in front of some fans that will be rooting for them will certainly be a novelty.”

USC has won 7 of the last 10 games against Cal in a series that dates back to 1917, but the Bears won both games last season by a total of three points.