Walking to class on Friday, sophomore guard Anthony Goods tried to convince himself that the rumbling in his stomach was all in his mind.

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Sammy Abusrur

Sophomore guard Anthony Goods returns to Los Angeles and could return to the court tonight against USC. Goods scored 10 points in the Card’s 65-50 win over the Trojans in January, but he did not play in a 69-65 Stanford loss to USC.

“I had heard that guys were sick,” Goods said of his teammates, some of whom had begun to feel the effects of some bad chicken in Thursday’s pre-game meal. “I wasn’t feeling great, but I just thought to myself, ‘Tough it out, suck it up.’ I walked into the building, and a minute later I was on the ground on the second floor with a trash can.”

Food poisoning was just the latest setback for Goods, who sprained his ankle in a game at Washington on Feb. 11. But after two IV drips on Saturday and a hard workout on Sunday — “I almost died,” Goods said — he should be ready to go tonight. His comeback comes at an opportune time, as the sixth-seeded Cardinal (18-11, 10-8 Pacific-10 Conference) take on third-seeded Southern California (21-10, 11-7) in the first round of the Pac-10 Tournament.

Stanford, which may need one more win to get its name on the dance card for the NCAA Tournament, will take as much of Goods as it can get.

“He will stretch the defense with his shot, and he gives us another defender,” head coach Trent Johnson said. “But I don’t want to put expectations on the young man after all the time he’s missed.”

Goods practiced with the team on Monday for the first time since his injury, though he was limited to no-contact drills.

The Cardinal could use his help on the defensive side of the ball against a Trojan team that features three explosive scorers in juniors Nick Young and Gabe Pruitt, and senior Lodrick Stewart. The trio combined for 55 of the Trojans’ 69 points in the teams’ last meeting in Los Angeles, a USC win. Stanford won the first match-up at Maples Pavilion, 65-50.

“In the first game [against the Trojans], we learned that we can go out and dominate,” sophomore forward Lawrence Hill said; Stanford blocked a school-record 19 shots and held USC to 28 percent shooting.

“In the second game, we learned that it won’t happen without our active effort,” Hill continued. “The first thing we’ll talk about as a team [in preparation for tonight’s game] is defense, especially me on Nick Young.”

Freshman forward Brook Lopez agreed that the Cardinal lacked a certain “killer instinct” the last time it played the Trojans. And Johnson agreed with Hill’s assessment of the defense, saying that he let Young feel too comfortable early on.

“Those are three guys you can’t let get into a rhythm,” Johnson said. “If you let them get easy, uncontested shots early, you’re going to have problems.”

Johnson said that the Cardinal has lacked energy in the last four games on defense and on the glass — usually the strengths of Stanford’s game. Those areas will be especially crucial tonight, against the best shooting team in the league.

“I haven’t been pleased with our lack of aggressiveness to start games, even against Arizona State,” Johnson said, referring to the game in which the Cardinal jumped out to a 12-2 advantage early on but let the Sun Devils creep back in. “We have been responding to teams as opposed to being proactive.”

Stanford will have to first concentrate on simply staying healthy, something that has proved surprisingly problematic in the last week. While Goods and the five other players afflicted with food poisoning recovered over the weekend, two other members of the Cardinal — starting freshman center Robin Lopez and senior guard Carlton Weatherby — were laid low by stomach flu and held out of practice on Monday.

But the main medical concern still lies with Goods. He has spent the last two weeks trying to get back into shape, but work on stationary bikes and underwater treadmills doesn’t necessarily equate to game conditioning, especially in a high-pressure postseason environment. Goods said that his ankle has felt sore after team drills, and it’s not clear for how long or how well he’ll be able to play. Sophomore guard Kenny Brown broke out for 22 points against Arizona on Saturday — statistical figures that will get him a significant chunk of minutes in upcoming games.

Defense will pose the biggest challenge for Goods, requiring quick lateral movement that puts strain on his tender ankle. The offensive game should come easier for him, due to his strength as a spot-up shooter. Nearly two-thirds of his shots this year have come from behind the arc, and his extended range just might extend the Cardinal’s season.

The game will tip off at 6 p.m. tonight in Los Angeles and will be televised on Fox Sports Net.