USC rallies to beat Oregon 81-75

USC donned their new home uniforms and got some inspired play from forward Keith Wilkinson and a bounce back performance from freshman phenom O.J. Mayo as they came from behind to defeat the Ducks 81-75 on Thursday night. USC trailed by as many as 15 points and went into the half with a 42-33 deficit, and things looked bad. But that's when Wilkinson and Mayo took over the game.

Wilkinson played 17 minutes in the 2nd half in place of a disappointing Davon Jefferson and was seemingly everywhere Thursday night. He failed to score, but he contributed 11 rebounds (including some big offensive boards) and had several nice hustle plays on defense. Here is the game recap from Rivals and here's an excerpt of Wilkinson's big night.

Thursday's biggest difference: Reserve forward Keith Wilkinson. After Floyd utilized his bench for only eight minutes in the loss to UCLA, Wilkinson played 23 minutes Thursday, including 17 in the second half. He grabbed 11 rebounds, including three dramatic ones on the offensive end.

Mayo, coming off his forgettable 4 point, 10 turnover game against the bRUINS, came up big with a game-high 32 points (21 of which came in the 2nd half). Floyd needs to keep trusting his bench, as he got quality minutes out of Wilkinson and walk-on guard Ryan Wetherell. I'm off to the Oregon State Game, and then heading home to watch a big game between top-ranked Memphis and 2nd-ranked Tennessee.

Fight On! Beat the Beavers!