by Rob Moseley

Editor, GoDucks.com

Photo: Eric Evans

Oregon's recruiting radar was once speckled with players now on USC's roster, enough so that Dana Altman is quite familiar with the Trojans.

The UO coach respected those players enough to know USC would get things going under third-year coach Andy Enfield. But few predicted the kind of start the Trojans are off to in 2015-16.

Picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 preseason poll, USC sits atop the conference entering its game Thursday in Matthew Knight Arena (6 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). The Trojans (15-3, 4-1 Pac-12) are off to their best start since 1991-92, and are ranked No. 21 in this week's Associated Press top 25.

“They've got a very talented team,” Altman said. “We knew they were going to be good; we tried to get some of those players, felt like they had tremendous upside.

“They're moving along very quickly. They've gotten good real quick.”

USC's signature victory is a four-overtime marathon over defending conference champion Arizona. The Trojans' only Pac-12 loss is by two points at Washington — the only other conference team off to a 4-1 start — and they've had a week off since winning a rivalry game at UCLA.

“The way they're playing right now, they're pretty dangerous,” UO freshman Tyler Dorsey said. “They've got a lot of confidence.”

Oregon was building some confidence of its own, until its three-game win streak ended Sunday at Colorado. The Ducks (14-4, 3-2) put behind them a loss at Oregon State that opened conference play by beating California, Stanford and Utah.

The good vibes dissipated in Colorado. With forwards Chris Boucher and Jordan Bell limited to 32 combined minutes due to foul trouble, the Ducks were outrebounded 39-25. The Buffaloes converted 14 offensive rebounds into 26 second-chance points.

“We just need to be a tougher team,” Dorsey said. “We didn't score as well the previous three games, but defensively we were solid. That's how we got those wins. At Colorado I think we slipped and didn't come with that mindset.”

After facing off last week against Utah's Jakob Poeltl and Colorado's Josh Scott, two of the top posts in the Pac-12, the Ducks face a different matchup Thursday. The Trojans like to run the floor and hit three-pointers — 155 so far, most in the conference.

Still, Oregon wants to demonstrate its toughness against the Trojans.

“We've got to pound on them, be physical and see if that works to slow them down,” UO sophomore Dillon Brooks said.

Brooks helped contain Poeltl in the win at Utah, and tangled with Scott a far amount Sunday. He'll give up size yet again Thursday against USC's Bennie Boatwright, though the 6-foot-10 freshman is a “pick-and-pop” player who leads the Trojans with 35 three-pointers.

“He's a stretch four, so I've got to switch channels,” Brooks said. “I'll try to get physical with him, because he's a freshman and we'll see how he reacts to that.”

Boatwright is one of six Trojans scoring in double figures for the season. Sophomore guard Jordan McLaughlin averages 13.5 points per game to lead the team. With its depth and athleticism, USC is comfortable getting out and running, and leads the conference at 84.6 points per game.

“They're really athletic, like us,” Brooks said. “It's going to be a fast-paced tempo, up and down.”

A shootout won't do for the Ducks, however. They learned a tough lesson at Colorado about what happens when they lose the battle of the boards and don't play tough defense, and they don't want another reminder any time soon.