The Trojans face a tough matchup in Stanford while having uncertainty over their status in the NCAA.

LOS ANGELES – For some teams - like the four playing today - the Pac-10 Tournament is a desperation three-pointer, the last chance to reach the NCAA Tournament.

For others - like UCLA - it's an open layup, necessary only to cement a prime position for a title run. For USC, it's an uncomfortable turnaround jumper in a double team. More bad things can happen than good.

The third-seeded Trojans are virtually certain they have secured their first NCAA Tournament berth in five years, but they can't shake a small, yet nagging worry: Would the selection committee leave them stranded if they lose to sixth-seeded Stanford on Thursday at Staples Center?

The anxiety level rises when the Trojans contemplate the opponent, a team that gives them matchup nightmares with its two 7-footers. There's more: The Cardinal's starting point guard, Anthony Goods, is scheduled to return from a three-week injury hiatus.

The Trojans have reasons to fret.

"We know they're going to come in with their best shot," Gabe Pruitt said. "We've just got to respond."

Win-one-for-the-seeding doesn't exactly have a heroic ring to it, but it's sort of the motivational engine that is driving the Trojans (21-10, 11-7 Pac-10). Stanford (18-11, 10-8) is standing softly on a bubble, meaning it might need a victory Thursday to extend its season.

The stakes might not be winner-take-all, but they're palpable for both teams.

"I feel we should go out with the mindset of making it easier on ourselves, putting it in our hands," Stanford forward Lawrence Hill told the San Jose Mercury News. "If we win, it will make us more deserving."

Some people think USC's weak nonconference schedule puts it at risk for a berth. USC coach Tim Floyd was under the impression no 11-victory team in the Pac-10 has been omitted from the tournament. In fact, four of the past 19 have been left out.

Floyd didn't look happy to hear that.

"I believe that we're in," he said. "We'll find out."

The Trojans might have to win a game or two this week to get a preferable seed from the committee. USC could be anything from a No.4 to a No.8 seed, depending how it does in the conference tournament. Seeding can be the difference between a soft path to the Sweet16 and a grueling game in the first round.

The Trojans know they don't have a history of postseason success to sway the committee.

"At 'SC, we'll get put at the bottom somewhere if we don't get a win," Nick Young said. "We're kind of the underdog program trying to get a win and, hopefully, get seeded somewhere good where we can get a chance to go to the second round."

The Trojans didn't exactly welcome news of Thursday's opponent once they lost a double-overtime thriller at Washington State on Saturday to finish third in the Pac-10. They lost by 15 at Stanford then edged the Cardinal, 69-65, at Galen Center. Goods didn't play the second time.

"He certainly changes things and changes your coverages," Floyd said. "He creates space. His ability to shoot it, his willingness to shoot it, changes a lot of the things we were able to do in the last game."

The Trojans' more pressing concern is finding interior bodies to slow Brook and Robin Lopez. Stanford blocked 19 shots the first time the teams met, then Brook Lopez had 23 points and eight rebounds in the second game.

Floyd is likely to use as many of his big bodies as he can to try to slow the Lopezes, but his best interior scorer, Taj Gibson, weighs 210 pounds and his other big men tend to clog up the Trojans' offense.

"When both (the Lopezes) are out there, it's like, 'Man, these guys are all over the key. They take up the whole lane,'" USC forward Keith Wilkinson said. "They're big guys. We've just got to do our best to keep them off the glass and draw them out on offense."