Ducks Poised for a Ranking After a Sweep : College basketball: Oregon follows victory over UCLA with one over USC, 95-82, and eyes a place in the national poll for the first time since 1977.

By LONNIE WHITE

Jan. 8, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

EUGENE, Ore. — Oregon point guard Kenya Wilkins grew up in Los Angeles and wanted to play for either USC or UCLA, but the call never came.

So it’s understandable why Wilkins took a special satisfaction over the Ducks’ 95-82 victory over USC on Saturday night to complete a weekend sweep of Southern California’s two Pacific 10 Conference schools.

“They should have recruited me because I didn’t want to leave California from the get-go,” said Wilkins, who had 11 points and nine assists against the Trojans. “But now it’s working out for the best for me.”

That’s because Wilkins is the leader of an Oregon team that is off to its best start in 17 years. At 10-1, the Ducks are expected to break into the national rankings for the first time since 1977, thanks to their first home sweep of USC and UCLA in 10 years.

Before a capacity McArthur Court crowd of 10,065, the Ducks played like a team that expects to be in the NCAA tournament in March. Led by the long-range shooting of Orlando Williams, who finished with a game-high 30 points, Oregon had too much firepower for the Trojans.

Williams made 11 of 20 shots, including seven of 11 three-point tries. Oregon made 30 of 59 shots.

“We ran into a buzz saw tonight,” USC Coach Charlie Parker said. “They’re playing with confidence. . . . You can’t shoot from any farther out than Orlando did.”

Behind Williams’ eight points, Oregon held a 19-8 lead seven minutes into the game. From there, USC had to play catch up, not good for a team with only eight scholarship players in uniform.

USC, which lost in overtime, 90-89, to Oregon State on Thursday night, played without Claude Green, who did not make the trip for disciplinary reasons, and Kirk Homenick, who missed his second game because of a knee injury.

Thanks to their full-court press, the Trojans were able to make several runs at Oregon, but each time the Ducks answered with an open layup or a three-point basket by Williams.

“We wanted to press the whole second half, but the guys came back after we would get close and said that they didn’t have anything left,” said Parker, whose Trojans forced Oregon into 21 turnovers.

Burt Harris kept USC close with 22 points, including four three-point baskets, before fouling out with four minutes to play. Lorenzo Orr finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes, and Jaha Wilson had 16 points and 10 rebounds in 36.

“The last two games, it seems like we get down by 10 or more points and then have to fight back,” said Stais Boseman, who played 31 minutes and had seven points and five steals in making his first start of the season. “Then, we get to a point where we’re real tired and then the other team starts getting easy baskets.”

Trojan Notes

Stais Boseman started in place of freshman Cameron Murray, who has made only six of his last 35 shots. . . . The Trojans’ seven-game winning streak over Oregon was snapped. . . . USC will play host Washington State at the Sports Arena on Thursday night.