Andy Enfield was ready to mix things up with his starting lineup Tuesday night after watching his USC basketball team start slow vs. UConn in the last game and then struggle late to hit any shots down the stretch of that narrow 3-point loss.

"They understood that we gave a game away that we could have won," Enfield would say Tuesday night.

With starting point guard Ethan Anderson missing a second straight game with a back injury, fellow guard Tahj Eaddy late for shootaround and wing Isaiah White battling illness and limited, redshirt junior Noah Baumann and sophomore Max Agbonkpolo joined the starting lineup.

And as it turned out, it wasn't just a ceremonial move for Baumann -- it would become his anticipated breakout game as the sharpshooter from San Jose State hit his first 4 3-point attempts, finished with a season-best 18 points and helped spur USC to a commanding 91-56 win over UC Irvine inside the Galen Center.

The Trojans improved to 4-1 with their Pac-12 opener up next, Sunday vs. Stanford.

Along with Baumann, 7-foot freshman phenom Evan Mobley played perhaps his best game as a Trojan with 22 points (on 8-of-13 shooting) with 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. Eaddy chipped in 12 points, hitting 3 of 4 3-pointers. And in general, USC found the rhythm it had lost in the defeat to UConn, racking up 23 assists (after having just 4 vs. the Huskies) and closing this game out with no tension.

"Tonight we did everything -- we defended, we played hard, we stole the ball, blocked shots, got out in transition and we made our spot-up jump shots when we had to," Enfield said. "... I thought tonight was a very important game for us because Irvine is good. They're talented, they're dangerous, they're big and they're very deep. So we certainly did not take this game lightly. We knew how good Irvine has been in the past and also their players this year. We were coming off a loss, and it was important for our players to understand what it takes to win. ...

"So I was very impressed, our coaching staff was very impressed with the energy tonight, their intensity and their ability to withstand with that for the whole 40 minutes instead of just 20."

Indeed, every time UC Irvine (1-3) got the game even to the fringe of considering a comeback, the Trojans had a response ready.

When the Anteaters cut it to a 17-point margin with a little more than 12 minutes remaining, Baumann swished a pull-up jumper and then followed up the next time down court with a fast-break feed to Chevez Goodwin under the basket for another bucket.

When UC Irvine got it back to within 18 a few minutes later, Eaddy drained a 3 and then fed Isaiah Mobley for a fastbreak dunk.

With that the lead started to climb again as the Trojans played this one to the end.

"Complete game for us tonight -- offensively, defensively," Enfield said, highlighting the 23 assists and 10 blocks for his team.

The most encouraging sign, though, might have been the play of Baumann. After sitting out last season following his transfer from San Jose State, he was expected to be a major boost on the perimeter for the Trojans, but he opened the season 2 of 9 from 3-point range.

"He's an elite shooter and he's much better than that," Enfield said. "The nice thing is he doesn't have a turnover yet on the season, tonight he had 3 assists. ... We expect him to defend at a higher level. I thought he gave great effort in the first half especially trying to do what we asked of him defensively."

But also the shooting ...

Baumann, who was a career 45.7-percent 3-point shooter in two seasons at San Jose State, hit his first shot of the game -- a 3 -- to find his confidence early, and then he helped the Trojans find some early separation. His second 3, of the catch-and-shoot variety on the right wing, pushed the lead to 20-12, and the next time down court he found Drew Peterson slashing to the lane for a dunk to make it a double-digit lead.

Baumann added two more 3s on back-to-back possessions later in the half to push the lead to 36-16 as the Trojans were off and running.

"The first couple games I just didn't have it," Baumann said afterward. "... I worked my tail off during my redshirt year and I've been working my tail off during the summer, so I just feel like, I wouldn't say I'm going to shoot every game like this, but I'm just going to try to bring that intensity and show what I can do for this basketball team. I guess in a sense it was relieving, but we have a lot of work to do."

Evan Mobley, meanwhile, just continued to do what he does -- block shots, throw down dunks, find open teammates, move smoothly through the paint, etc. He also knocked down a couple 3s this game to show his range.

"Evan has his own presence. He definitely is a player who can do a lot and every game sort of bring something out that we didn't see before," Baumann said of his teammate.

Said Mobley: "I get more comfortable every single time I step on the floor. Every single day in practice I'm working on the 3-pointer, mid-range, just a lot of shots, and overall I feel like it's paying off in games. ... Every single time I just do what I see is open. If it's a drive, if it's a pop, if it's a kick-out, I just do what's necessary for the game, best play possible, and usually it works out."

NOTES: As for Anderson, who has now missed two full games and most of a third, his status is uncertain for the Pac-12 opener Sunday.

"Ethan has a back injury. He's progressing. We hope he'll be ready for Sunday. He's day to day," Enfield said.

Enfield was also asked about Isaiah Mobley, who continues to struggle with his touch on the offensive end. He finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists, but he was 4 of 11 from the field and 0 for 2 from the foul line.

For the season, he's shooting 40.9 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from the line (10 of 25).

"He has every opportunity to keep getting better as a player. He had 4 assists tonight and Isaiah is very unselfish, he's smart -- he just needs to make his easy shots. We started the game, we ran a play for him, got him the ball in the low post, he missed a jump hook from 3 feet, he got his offensive rebound and then missed another jump hook from 2 feet. So there's nothing you can do as a coach, coaching staff. Players just have to step up and make those, "Enfield said. "He's a better player than that, but I was very impressed in the second half he came back in the game, ended up with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and he should have had about 15-16 points. He just missed some easy shots and he missed two free throws.

"So he's got to shoot a better percentage from the foul line and he's got to make his easy shots. His field goal percentage is too low right now for someone that's 6-10 and that skilled."