"We did everything we didn't do on the road," USC coach Kevin O'Neill said after his team's 65-42 rout of Stanford at the Galen Center Thursday night.

Coming off a pair of unsettling losses at Oregon and Oregon State, USC (11-8, 3-3) got back to its core: defense, defense, defense.

"That's who we have to be. Our players may not want to hear it, but that's who we have to be."

The Trojans produced their most impressive defensive performance of the season, holding the Cardinal (10-7, 3-3) to just 22.2 percent shooting -- the lowest shooting percentage by a Stanford team in the shot clock era.

-- BREAKING IT DOWN --

Key moment: For a span of nearly five minutes of the first half, Stanford couldn't buy a bucket.

From 13:16 to 8:21, USC went on a 10-0 run to push its lead to 18-5. Alex Stepheson recorded two of his four blocks. Freshman Maurice Jones swiped a steal. And Stanford missed six consecutive jumpers.

The Trojans also went on a similar 12-1 run in the second half when they pushed their lead to 30 points. They held Stanford without a field goal for 10:32.

Player of the game: Nikola Vucevic. The junior forward from Bar, Montenegro notched his seventh 20-point performance of the season. He showed his versatility, scoring from the inside and outside with post moves and 3-pointers. He was just a rebound away from his 12th double-double of the season, and he added a pair of assists and blocks.

Vucevic finished nearly perfect from the floor, making 9-of-11 field goals, including a pristine 2-for-2 on 3-pointers.

"Nik's been having good nights," O'Neill said. "When we get him the ball, he's going to have good nights."

It was obvious he was "feeling it" in the second half. On his first 3-pointer, he waved his armed furiously as the ball was passed around the perimeter. When the ball finally swung to Vucevic, he fired up a shot almost as soon as it touched his hands, leaving his defender sitting on his heels while the ball splashed through the net.

Most Spectacular Play: With just over seven minutes remaining, Marcus Simmons and Alex Stepheson trapped Stanford star Jeremy Green in the corner.

Green attempted to jump and pass the ball out, but the speedy Maurice Jones ran across and knocked the ball away. With his momentum carrying him out of bounds, Jones flipped the ball backwards where Stepheson picked it up.

"[The trap] is like a drill we do in practice," Jones said. "Marcus kept his guy down and he either had to pass it back out or skip it across court. I read it right and tried to throw it back to Al."

Stepheson passed the ball ahead to Donte Smith, who sprinted ahead on the fastbreak. When Smith got to the middle of the lane, he dished off to Jones, who was streaking up the right side.

The shortest man on the court, Jones jumped into a defender, bringing the ball to his chest before laying in the bucket off the glass to give USC a commanding 56-28 lead, doubling up the Cardinal.

Unsung Hero: Marcus Simmons. Simmons set the tone early in the game, bodying up Stanford's leading scorer: Jeremy Green. When the ball wasn't in Green's hands, Simmons was in Green's grill. Green was never able to get in a rhythm because he wasn't even able to get the ball.

"When [Simmons] guards a primary guy like Jeremy, he really gets down and guards and plays," said O'Neill. "He does what he's supposed to do."

Green attempted only three field goals in the first half, making just one. He finished the game 2-of-9 with only five points -- 10.5 below his season average.

Simmons didn't have his greatest offensive game, but he did knock down a 3-pointer and finished with eight rebounds.

"Step It Up:" Scrubnuts. I know about the life of a bench player who gets less play in a season than a hot girl sees in one night at a club. Trust me. I've been there. However, when the starters do you a favor and blow out a team to get you in the game, you have to keep the momentum.

No, you don't have to shut out the opponent or go on a scoring run, but you can't let the opponent end the game on an 11-0 run like USC's bench did.

The worst part was that Tyler Sugiyama and James Dunleavy both missed the front end of one-and-one free throw opportunities. For Sugiyama, it was a chance to score his first career points.

I hope some of the parents that like to yell at O'Neill to empty the bench with the team up by 15 with a minute or two remaining took notice of what happens when the bench is actually emptied.

Key stat: 22.2. Stanford shot just 22.2 percent from the floor, including an abysmal 19.4 percent in the second half. The Cardinal made only 3-of-18 3-point attempts and didn't even hit the rim on four of those tries.

It was the least amount of points Stanford has scored against USC since 1948, when the Trojans beat the Cardinal 46-34. Not one Stanford player scored in double figures. Leading scorers Jeremy Green and Josh Owens combined for just 10 points.

Sideline Strategy: Following the transfer of freshman guard Bryce Jones earlier this week, coach Kevin O'Neill decided to rotate his guards in and out of the lineup more frequently. O'Neill subbed guards five times in the first half, going for quick breaks for his starters before getting them back in the game.

O'Neill is only going to play the seven players he trusts down the stretch, but he is trying to rotate in Donte Smith and Garrett Jackson off the bench in order to keep his starting five from running out of gas at the end of games.

It will be interesting to see if his strategy works or if the team fades on the back half of the conference schedule, much like it did last season.

Where They Stand: USC could have easily come out distracted following the terrible road trip to the state of Oregon last weekend and the announcement earlier this week that Bryce Jones would be transferring. However, the team came together and played one of its best collective games. It was a bit sloppy, but the Trojans did exactly what they had to do. They held serve on their home court.

"It was really important, we needed this game to bounce back," Vucevic said. "We showed today we have to play defense."

They also blew out a team that was ahead of them in the conference standings, further sending a message that no game at the Galen Center will be easy for the opposition. At 3-3, USC is currently tied for fifth place in the conference standings.

Last week's losses at Oregon and Oregon State really hurt the potential of nabbing an at-large bid from the NCAA Tournament selection committee. The Trojans have slipped from a No. 11 seed to a No. 12 seed to out of the tournament the last three weeks on the big board of ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi.

For USC to get into the NCAA Tournament, they are going to have to continue to win at home, which hasn't been an issue this season (save the Rider game). This Saturday's game against Cal is no exception. It is a must-win.

But as senior guard Donte Smith said, "Right now, every game is a must-win."

To reach Shotgun Spratling, click here, or follow him on Twitter @BlueWorkhorse.

Sign up for Neon Tommy's weekly e-mail newsletter.