USC’s reward for a successful nonconference season is spending New Year’s Day in Pullman, Wash., where the high temperature Friday will be 19 degrees.
But the hardest place to get to in the Pacific-12 Conference is probably right where the Trojans need to be to figure out if they are actually a team to be taken seriously.
“We’re 11-2, that’s right where we want to be,” point guard Jordan McLaughlin said. “I think the road games were a big challenge for us last year. We weren’t able to get over the hump (on the road). We can’t overlook anybody in the conference.