Report: USC basketball targeting Florida Gulf Coast head coach Andy Enfield

Florida Gulf Coast coach Andy Enfield led the Eagles to the first-ever Sweet 16 appearance by a No. 15 seed. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The University of Southern California basketball program,  which fired head coach Kevin O'Neill in January in the midst of a 14-18 season, is targeting Florida Gulf Coast's Andy Enfield for its head coaching vacancy, according to Yahoo! Sports' Dan Wetzel.

The coach and school are expected to begin talks this weekend, the report states.

Enfield's stunning 2013 NCAA tournament run at the helm of the 15th-seeded "Dunk City" Eagles ended on Friday in a 62-50 loss to Florida.

The 43-year-old gained recognition during the tourney for cultivating FGCU's uptempo style, as well as his business background and model wife.

USC, meanwhile, finished near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings with a 9-9 record. During O'Neill's three-plus-year tenure, the Trojans never finished better than 10-8 in the conference and made just one tournament appearance (2011).

They fired O'Neill after a 7-10 start this season, naming associate head coach Bob Cantu as interim head coach.

Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins is also considered a candidate for the job, but USC is intrigued by what Enfield offers, according to Wetzel.

While Enfield, a former Florida State and NBA assistant coach has few recruiting ties to the West Coast, USC is intrigued by not only his success and potential, but his preferred uptempo style of play. FGCU became known as "Dunk City" due to its high-octane system that could play well in Los Angeles. USC competes for basketball fans with not just UCLA and other area colleges but the Lakers and Clippers NBA franchises that play just a few miles from campus in the Staples Center.