SC NOTEBOOK: KOSTAS COULD BE PLUS FOR TROJANS.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

Although USC starting center Kostas Charissis scores fewer than two points per game, his teammates wish he would get more playing time than his season average of nine minutes.

Charissis played less than 60 seconds against Arizona in Tucson last week after committing a turnover and foul at the outset, but some Trojans regret he isn't playing more.

``I like it better when Kostas is in there. I think at Arizona it's a different story if he plays,'' USC forward David Bluthenthal said. ``If Kostas had been in there, I wouldn't have been guarding (Arizona forward) Luke Walton. We would have had Sam (Clancy) on him.

``I can play power forward on defense, but I think we're better with Kostas out there.''

USC coach Henry Bibby, who has played Charissis sparingly, admitted there are advantages to having the 6-foot-11 junior in the lineup.

``Kostas has done a nice job for us. He takes up a lot of space around Sam to give Sam more leeway on the floor,'' Bibby said. ``And Sam doesn't have to guard a guy who's 6-11.''

Charissis could be particularly important tonight when USC hosts California at the Sports Arena. The Bears have four players who are 6-10 or taller.

--Strange schedule: Although USC (14-3, 6-1) has played seven games in the Pacific-10 Conference, the Trojans have seen only five opponents. With a postseason tournament, the conference shook up the schedule and USC opened Pac-10 play with four games against the Washington schools.

That means USC plays Oregon and Oregon State in four of its final nine games.

`It's kind of weird,'' Clancy said. ``I haven't even seen Cal or Stanford yet or the Oregon schools either.''

--Losing control: USC freshman point guard Derrick Craven has appeared in three games since returning from a stress fracture in his right leg, and it sometimes appears he's trying to make up for lost time with some of the fancy plays he has tried to make.

``He wants to get it done and wants to rush it,'' Bibby said. ``Once he buys into his role, he'll be a nice basketball player.''

--Favorable ranking: When USC plays No. 17-ranked Stanford on Saturday, it will be the Cardinal's worst ranking when they have played the Trojans since 1998.

The past three times USC has played Stanford, the Cardinal were ranked No. 1. The past six meetings, Stanford was in the top 10.