Andy Enfield recalled that about a week ago in Las Vegas his coaches were looking around the locker room and having it fully sink in that none of USC's players had ever played in the Pac-12 tournament before.

The stakes are far greater this week in Indianapolis, Ind., as the No. 6-seeded Trojans prepare to open NCAA tournament play Saturday against either No. 11 Wichita State or Drake, and the collective experience for this stage is still minimal within his rotation of 5-star freshman, mid-major transfers and second-year players who got denied this opportunity a year ago by the pandemic.

Forward Chevez Goodwin is the only Trojans player with prior NCAA tournament experience, playing in the postseason with Wofford two years ago as the Terriers earned a win over Seton Hall before losing to Kentucky.

That said, this is not a normal NCAA tournament in most any regard, and Enfield is confident the experience factor won't be an obstacle for his Trojans.

"Our entire team has a severe lack of tournament experience, but I think as a basketball player you adjust pretty quickly and I think our guys are just really excited for this opportunity. So I don't think the moment is too big for our team," Enfield said Wednesday while talking to reporters over Zoom. "I think we're very confident, and I think our players are more excited [than anything else]. They know what's at stake. I think the teams that play with a very extreme confidence level and play with that swagger have a better chance of winning these tournament games, and I think we'll come out with that confidence on Saturday and give it our best shot."

The Trojans (22-7) still don't know who they'll be playing yet on Saturday -- that will be determined Thursday when Wichita State (16-5) and Drake (25-4) meet in the First Four round at 3:27 PT to see who advances as the No. 11 seed to face USC.

Enfield shared some preliminary thoughts on the potential matchups and he and star freshman Evan Mobley gave a glimpse into life inside the NCAA tournament bubble in general.

"We have to do things a little differently. We can't really go anywhere by ourselves -- we have to let people know what we're doing. But it's a great experience so far," Mobley said of the Trojans' first few days in Indianapolis. "I would like it to be like normal, like in the past years, but it is how it is with the coronavirus and everything. It's great so far."

Enfield expounded on the setup, noting the hotel USC is staying in is reserved exclusively for NCAA tournament teams with each team having its own floor, conference room and meeting room while practicing at designated times in the connected convention center.

"A lot of USC people would normally be here if not for the pandemic. I think we do have some season-ticket holders coming in here tomorrow as well as some family, but here's an example -- my family flies in tomorrow and I will not be able to see them. They'll be in a different hotel, [I'll] have no interaction with them other than to wave to my wife and three children in the stands," Enfield said. "One of the fun parts about March Madness is I really enjoy the family members and the staff getting on the plane, the charter plane from Los Angeles, and fly out with the team and be part of our program for a few days at a very special time of year. So we'll certainly miss our families here. ...

"So that's a big part of it. We're completely isolated from the outside world. I have not been outside since we've been here two days, so we are going to take a team picture outside [today] so we're excited to see some daylight. ... Our players have really only seen the daylight when they look out the hotel window and go in the skywalk [to the convention center]. So it is a little different than a normal NCAA tournament, but at the same time we understand."

The NCAA is allowing some fans up to 25 percent capacity in the venues used for the tournament -- the Trojans are playing their opening game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where the NBA's Indiana Pacers play. Tournament games will also be spread around Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the NFL's Colts), Hinkle Fieldhouse (home of Butler), Indiana Farmers Coliseum (home of IUPUI basketball and minor league hockey), Assembly Hall in Bloomington (home of Indiana basketball) and Mackey Arena in West Lafayette (home of Purdue basketball).

This is Enfield's third NCAA tournament trip in eight years with USC -- the Trojans lost to Providence in the first round in 2016, then beat Providence in the First Four in 2017, beat SMU and lost to Baylor in the Round of 32. (The program would have made it last year had there been a tournament). Enfield also notably coached Florida Gulf Coast to the Sweet 16 in 2013, and he reflected on the impact full arenas/stadiums had on those experiences then and contrasted that with his expectations for the week ahead.

"I think part of March Madness is the excitement of the stadiums or arenas. ... To hear the excitement and just the anguish of defeat, you just don't get that at any other sporting event because the fan base is so excited to be there and anxious, you have the bands, the fan bases, some travel more than others," he said. "... I think that's the special part of March Madness to actually be in the arenas. I coached in the NBA for a few years, and you just don't get that level of excitement in the NBA or in a normal college basketball game, even though some home arenas are exciting."

Of course, every team is going through the same experience this week. Enfield shared that one of his players mentioned in practice not having his legs that session, with assistant coach Jason Hart quickly chiming in on the comment.

"Coach Hart immediately stopped and said, 'What do you mean? You've been laying around a hotel for a couple of days. We can't use excuses like that.' We expect to be ready to play on Saturday," Enfield said. "All the teams are in a similar situation. If you can't get excited or aren't ready, then that's on you as a competitor. Our players have been great about that all season, and we expect them to be pumped up to play on Saturday afternoon."

As for the matchup, only one thing is certain -- USC will have a pronounced height advantage against either opponent.

Junior forward Morris Udeze (6-foot-8) is the only player on Wichita State's roster taller than 6-foot-6 who plays at least 15 minutes a game, while Clarence Jackson (6-7) and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler (6-9, missed the AAC tournament with an ankle injury) come off the bench and Josaphat Bilau (6-10) hasn't played more than 5 minutes in a game since December.

For Drake, 6-foot-10 junior starter Darnell Brodie and 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman reserve Nate Ferguson are the only players taller than 6-foot-6 in the rotation.

USC, meanwhile, will trot out 7-foot Evan Mobley, 6-foot-10 Isaiah Mobley, 6-foot-9 Goodwin, 6-foot-8 Drew Peterson, 6-foot-7 Isaiah White and 6-foot-9 Max Agbonkpolo.

"We have strengths and every other team has strengths, and that's why you're here in the NCAA tournament -- because your strengths gave you enough wins in the season to be invited here," Enfield said. "So we will continue to use our strengths. You also have to make adjustments to guard the other team. I think both Wichita and Drake present challenges with us. We have a size advantage in the interior, but they have some advantages at different positions.

"That's the great thing about the NCAA tournament -- you play teams that you're not familiar with. You guys asked me 15 minutes after the selection show the other day about the teams. Unfortunately, I had not had the opportunity to watch Wichita State or Drake on television or scout them throughout the season, so now that I have for two days they're just as good as I thought they would be. They're really good basketball teams, and so we will play to our strengths and you guys know what they are. We're hoping with some of the adjustments we can make during the game it will be enough to help us win."

USC strengths are defense, rebounding and having one of the best players in the country in Evan Mobley, who averages 16.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game and played his best basketball last week in USC's two Pac-12 tournament games, totaling 26 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks in each game while looking more assertive on the offensive end. He has cleaned up on postseason accolades, earning Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors, followed by AP second-team All-American recognition.

He and Tahj Eaddy, the grad transfer guard from Santa Clara who averages 13.7 PPG, are the tone-setters for the Trojans.

Wichita State, meanwhile, is in its first season under coach Isaac Brown, who took over as interim coach in November when Gregg Marshall resigned under pressure and controversy. Brown has since signed a 5-year extension while guiding the Shockers to an 11-2 record in the American Athletic Conference and navigating significant COVID setbacks in having nine games postponed/cancelled along the way.

The Shockers are led by sophomore guard Tyson Etienne, who averages 17 points and shoots 39.9 percent from 3-point range (averaging 3 made 3s a game). They have offensive depth as well with redshirt senior guard Alterique Gilbert (10.3 PPG), Udeze (9.8 PPG) and junior guard Dennis Dexter (9.4 PPG). Their leading rebounder is 6-foot-6 forward Trey Wade at 5.6 per game.

As for Drake, it started 18-0 before sliding to 25-4 with two of those losses coming in its last three games -- against Bradley to end the regular season and against Loyola in the Missouri Valley tournament. The team has five players averaging double-figure points in senior forward ShanQuan Hemphill (14.1 PPG), sophomore guard Joseph Yesufu (12.1 PPG), redshirt junior guard Roman Penn (11.2 PPG), junior guard D.J. Wilkins (10.3 PPG) and redshirt senior forward Tremell Murphy (10.2).

Mobley indicated that the players haven't been asked to watch any film on either opponent yet, so it sounds like the Trojans are focusing on themselves the first part of this week while the coaches scout both potential opponents. They will then have Thursday night and all of Friday to tailor the game plan more specifically after seeing who wins that First Four game.

"Wichita State and Drake, they've had incredible seasons. Drake was undefeated for the longest time and Wichita State won the American [Athletic] Conference. They are both excellent basketball teams, and they're different. It will be a very interesting game tomorrow -- we will watch -- but it'll be a very challenging game for us no matter who wins on Thursday night," Enfield said. "We respect them tremendously, and what coach Brown has done in his first season as a head coach [at Wichita State], we're really happy for him to have the success, to win the American in his first year as a head coach. And then coach [Darian] DeVries in his third year at Drake, to go undefeated as long as they did and compete at that level and make the tournament as an at-large team, just shows you how great a season they've had.

"It'll be a big challenge for us on Saturday no matter who we play, and we'll watch anxiously on Thursday to see who wins."