No. 18 USC (0-0, 0-0) hosts the unranked Mercer Bears (0-0, 0-0) on Saturday at 1:00p at the Galen Center.

The matchup:
The OJ Mayo era (if one season can be called an era) officially begins on Saturday when the Trojans kick off their 2007-08 men’s basketball season with a home contest against Mercer, a small Atlantic Sun Conference school from Macon, Georgia. The Bears, who finished the 2006-07 season at 13-17, are led by sophomore guard James Florence, who led his conference in scoring last season with 19.3 points per game. Mercer returns two additional starters (a fourth, forward Sam Dolan, is sidelined with a back injury), but the school has generally fared poorly against major-conference schools in recent years, including losses to Oregon and Wisconsin last season. One exception: a win seven years ago at Auburn.

Although the Trojans open the season ranked in the top 25, it may be best to keep expectations low in the early going. USC has lost its last two season openers in overtime games at home, falling last year to South Carolina 80-74 at the Galen Center and the prior year to CS Northridge 81-76 at the Sports Arena. And not only must third-year coach Tim Floyd break seven freshmen (including Mayo and highly-recruited forward Davon Jefferson) into a lineup that is missing its top three scorers from last season, but many of his players have been hurt during recent weeks, giving them little time to practice with their new teammates. The Trojans also performed poorly in a closed scrimmage against Fullerton last weekend. Nevertheless, the team is looking to get off to a strong start this weekend, as USC does not return to the Galen Center until the end of the month (and when they do, it is against national powerhouses Oklahoma and Kansas).

Injury update:
G Daniel Hackett (broken jaw) and C Mamadou Diarra (hernia) are out, and will be for at least several more weeks. F Taj Gibson, the team’s leading returning scorer and rebounder, injured his ankle during Wednesday’s practice and his status will be determined today or tomorrow. F RouSean Cromwell has missed several days of practice this week with a leg injury, but is expected to play Saturday. F Davon Jefferson has been limited since returning from an ankle injury, and will play (but probably won’t start) against Mercer.

TV/Radio:
Although Saturday’s game will not be televised, it can be seen live online via the school’s Trojan TV All-Access service for a $4.99 fee (or $19.99 for a package of all five non-televised games). The game will also be broadcast live on 710 AM.

Rosters: USC | Mercer

Game press release (Official USC site)
USC’s Opening Game Against Mercer To Be Carried Live On Trojan TV All-Access (Official USC site)
USC opponent Mercer has a couple of L.A. ties (LA Times)
There’s more to USC’s Mayo than hype (Press-Enterprise)
USC has freshman influence (OC Register)
Flexing newfound muscle (Daily Trojan)
Solving a so-called identity crisis (Daily Trojan)
USC’s Mayo dispels preconceptions with humility (USA Today)
Pac-10 Preview: Nothing easy in this league (Seattle Times)