On paper, Bob Cantu’s mandate as USC’s interim coach is a simple one: progress.

In practice, though, it’s decidedly less simple. The ‘where’ of it all – forward – speaks for itself but the ‘what’ is another matter entirely. Is progress determined exclusively by the team’s win-loss record under Cantu’s watch? Or should it be viewed through the prism of the team’s overall play?

On Saturday, the Trojans demonstrated both en route to a 69-68 thriller over the Oregon State Beavers, their first under Cantu, to improve to 8-11 on the year.

Best of all, both for USC and Cantu’s chances of removing that interim tag come season’s end, though, was the ‘how.’ Like Thursday’s narrow loss to Oregon, this win had all the trademarks of Cantu’s revised approach to Trojan basketball and with it a breath of fresh air the Trojans sorely needed after their stagnant start to the year under Kevin O’Neill.

While Cantu is in a different zip code from O’Neill in terms of frankness, the 38-year-old made explicitly clear during Monday’s introductory press conference what tweaks his team would make. Bob Cantu’s Trojans will push the tempo on offense and aggressively challenge the ball on defense, his players given the imperative to “go out and be free-minded and play loose and not think the game too much,” as Cantu said after practice on Wednesday.

The natural starting point is the scoreboard. The same team that cracked the 70-point mark four times total in 17 games under O’Neill was one point away from doing it twice in as many games under Cantu, and done so in demonstrably easier fashion to boot. That they have outshot their opponents each night – highlighted by a 49.1 percentage against the Beavers – only tells part of the story. The looks are simply better, a direct byproduct of the Trojans using their collective athleticism to force the issue inside instead of slowing down in the half court to allow the defense to regroup. To wit, the Trojans outscored the Beavers 44-36 in the paint, with much of the damage via Byron Wesley’s drives to the lane on the way to a team-leading 19 points.

“I told Byron 'you're a great driver. you're great at getting to the basket... and I want you to penetrate and try to get to the basket and try to get fouled all the time,'” Cantu said. “Byron played a tremendous game.”

“Coach always tells me to be aggressive,” Wesley said. “He definitely emphasizes getting in the paint, and we did a good job of that tonight.”

Yet as was the case under O’Neill’s watch, none of it would have happened without the defense. The coaching change hasn’t had quite the same boon on that end; Oregon State’s Roberto Nelson proved just how shoddy the wing defense still is by scoring a game-high 26 points. But an emphasis on turnovers bore fruit, with the Trojans generating 16 points off of 15 Beaver give-aways. It peaked late in the first half on a 8-0 run that came together in just 57 seconds, featuring a pair of blocks that led to transition buckets the other way. It’s Cantu’s brand of basketball at its finest; at their best, these Trojans whip up runs much faster than they ever could under O’Neill.

It’s a good thing, too, because that wasn’t just the best way to score in this one; for long stretches of action, it was the only way. This was a tale of two halves, a first that saw USC take care of the ball, shoot high-percentage looks and control the action, and a second in which they settled for long shots and even longer passes against Oregon State’s signature 1-3-1 zone defense. They nearly gave away the game with the latter, turning the ball over 20 times overall and blowing a 15-point lead in the process.

“We probably weren't prepared for the 1-3-1,” Cantu conceded. “We did turn it over more than normal and that's because they're running a 1-3-1 and they're very good at it.”

But when it mattered, the Trojans pulled out the win by going back to their new form of basics. A frenetic final two minutes saw the lead change hands six different times, a sight for sore eyes after USC at one point went 5:41 without scoring a single point. The final three USC baskets all came in the painted area – one off a Wesley drive; one off a turnover on an Oregon State inbounds pass that Eric Wise converted into an easy layup; and the game-winner from Aaron Fuller, an emergency fill-in in the middle after Dewayne Dedmon fouled out, on the type of back cut they had looked to establish from the get-go.

“That's what we were trying to do all night, try and reverse it and get it in the low part,” said Cantu of Fuller’s basket. “Finally, we were able to turn the corner and get it over there.”

That mettle was there two nights ago as well, when a similar look from Dewayne Dedmon didn’t go down and the Trojans came up losers in this same type of close game. Wesley attributed that poise more to the team’s growth in chemistry from the start of the year than a shift under Cantu, but also gave credit where it’s due for the jump in play versus the Oregon schools.

“Cantu has a different philosophy,” said the sophomore. “He wants us to be aggressive and play free.”

It’s noticeably improved from the team’s previous demeanor, and it paid dividends in the win column for the first time, as well.

It was progress, at its finest.

Reach Staff Reporter Mike Piellucci here. Follow him on Twitter here.