AFTER SWEEP OF OREGON SCHOOLS, USC BOOSTS POSTSEASON HOPES : USC 83, OREGON STATE 62.

Byline: Scott Wolf Daily News Staff Writer

The question remained the same, even as USC added another victory to its record Saturday night.

As the Trojans disposed of lowly Oregon State 83-62 before 4,431 at the Sports Arena, they earned what was considered a necessary home sweep of the Oregon schools.

But the victories over Oregon and Oregon State only intensified the post-game chatter in the Trojans' locker room, as players and coaches wondered aloud about USC's odds of making the NCAA Tournament.

USC (16-9, 11-5) is currently alone in second place in the Pacific-10, a half-game ahead of Arizona, which hosts Washington today.

The Trojans' current lofty position, combined with the fact that this is only the second USC team since 1985 to win more than 10 conference games, caused coach Henry Bibby to let off a little steam about his team's postseason chances.

``We're probably the only team in the Pac-10 that's on the bubble all the time,'' Bibby said. ``You'd think with some of these wins, we might get off it. Teams that are below us, Arizona and Stanford, everyone says they're locks for the tournament.''

Bibby might have been trying to offer a little spin control on USC's behalf, but the Trojans players were not quite ready to play that sophisticated game.

``I'm all new to this, this is the first year I've ever thought about going to the tournament,'' said guard Stais Boseman, who scored a game-high 22 points. ``Some say we have to win three (of our last four), some say we have to win all four.

``It depends on who you talk to. The only thing we can do is win the remainder of our games.''

USC travels to the Washington schools next week to conclude its season. A sweep should guarantee an NCAA berth, because the Trojans would finish no worse than tied for second place.

A split in Washington makes things less clear.

``I have no idea about the NCAA Tournament. We have to go up and take two games in Washington,'' Bibby said. ``We're capable of doing it. But it's going to be tough.''

Especially if the Trojans played the way they did in the first half against Oregon State. USC committed 13 turnovers and made only 3 of 13 of its 3-point shots.

Even those dreadful stats were not enough for the Beavers to actually lead at the half, and they trailed by five points (32-27).

But the Trojans' effort had Bibby concerned, considering USC had not really played well in its previous five games.

Fortunately for Bibby, USC responded with an inspired second half. The Trojans continually worked the ball inside and played much better defense.

Jaha Wilson and Jarvis Turner were the primary recipients of the inside-oriented offense. Wilson had 15 points in the second half (21 overall) and Turner added 12 points.

Rodrick Rhodes did most of the passing, and had a season-high 11 assists.

``In the first half, we were very selfish in our play and it showed,'' Bibby said.

``Everybody came out and was just jacking the ball up,'' Rhodes added.

The Trojans ended up shooting 54.5 percent in the second half, which was 13 points higher than they shot in the opening 20 minutes.

``In the second half, everybody came out (and played hard), and that was the difference in the game,'' Rhodes said.

Notes: USC coach Henry Bibby was upset about remarks attributed to him on the Stanford-California telecast Saturday morning, regarding the Golden Bears. ``What was said on TV was taken totally out of context about (Cal) not being good,'' Bibby said. ``I did not say they aren't good.''

Earlier this week, Bibby was asked about Cal losing its leading scorer, Ed Gray, for the season with a broken foot.

``Gray is the whole team,'' Bibby said. ``He's an NBA player. With Ed Gray they can compete with a lot of Pac-10 teams. I think they could lose two of (their final) three (games).''